


Lightning, Law-Breakers, and Links

by Dexter22



Series: Reading the Percy Jackson Books [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Athena, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Reading the Books
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dexter22/pseuds/Dexter22
Summary: It's the Winter Solstice meeting, 2005. It seems like an ordinary meeting, other than a son of Hermes trying to start WW3. In a flash, two teenagers from the future arrive. Now they all have to read the events of what happened in an alternate timeline in the hopes to change it.Reading the books trope. This is the Lightning Thief. Language warning.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Everyone, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Aphrodite/Ares/Hephaestus (Percy Jackson), Apollo & Artemis (Percy Jackson), Apollo & Hermes (Percy Jackson), Katie Gardner/Travis Stoll, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf
Series: Reading the Percy Jackson Books [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182599
Comments: 51
Kudos: 149





	1. A Flash From the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

It was an ordinary winter solstice meeting. Poseidon and Zeus were yelling about natural disasters. Demeter was ranting at anyone who would listen about cereal, before going back to screaming Hades' ear off about kidnapping her daughter. Athena was trying to lecture Dionysus and Hermes but was failing miserably when they merely kept drinking. Artemis was chewing Apollo out for flirting with her hunters again. Hera was grumbling to Aphrodite about her failing marriage and Aphrodite was loving it. Hephaestus and Ares were in an argument about who Aphrodite really loves. Hestia sighed sadly at her family, but kept tending to the hearth. The demigods visiting looked sick that these were their parents, one was smirking victoriously (he knew they were not to be trusted, now how to get the bolt and helm...?).

In a flash, two teenagers appeared on the ground.

One had sea-swept dark hair that went to his neck. He looked about college age. His eyes were a shining sea-green with a light of trouble-maker in his eyes. His skin was smooth and tan but was littered with scars, new and old. He was wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt with eight camp beads on his string, which is more than most demigods have ever seen. Chiron frowned, he had no recollection of ever teaching this student.

The other was much more familiar to the groups. She looked to be the same age as the other one. She had curled blonde hair tight back tightly in a pony-tail. Her eyes were grey, sharp, and calculating. Her skin was soft with a timeless California tan. She had less scars than the other guy, but there was still lots of pale scars that stood out against her skin. She had more camp beads than anyone had ever seen, _thirteen_. She looked nearly identical to one daughter of Athena.

"WHO DARES INTURRUPT OUR MEETING?!" boomed Zeus. To everyone's surprise, intruder just made a face. Annabeth's clone seemed to be fighting a smile.

"Jeez drama-king. Tone it down. I don't want to go deaf." He grumbled. Poseidon let out a shocked laugh. Hermes and Apollo looked at the guy in awe. Hades' face didn't change but his eyes glinted in amusement. Most of the goddesses frowned in disapproval. Zeus went red and grabbed his lightning bolt to try and strike him down.

"Seaweed brain." shushed Annabeth's-clone with a fond smile. She turned to Zeus who was getting ready to strike. "Did you not summon us here, my lord?"

"Well I don't know who you are, how could I have summoned you?" asked Zeus snappishly.

"Woah calm down Jamal." The male intruder muttered. "Don't pull out the nine." Annabeth's-clone was definitely fighting laughter at that. Zeus was slowly growing purple. Annabeth's-clone looked around the throne room in confusion, her eyes landing on Annabeth and Luke before she sucked in a breath.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Let the intruders talk father, then we can decide what to do with them."

The male intruder immediately looked to Annabeth's-clone. She frowned at him. "Your the brain-kid!" The male intruder told her. Annabeth's-clone sighed in annoyance, muttered some kind of expletive, but agreed.

"I am Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. I think we are in the past." That got some wide-eyed stares.

"Wait what?" The male intruder(-time traveller?) stared at her. "Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Look!" Future-Annabeth pointed in the direction of Luke and past-Annabeth who were mimicking gold-fish. The male time-traveller stared at them for a long minute before sighing heavily.

"Great. Just great." He mumbled, rubbing his face tiredly. "Do we not get one break?!"

"No." agreed a voice. Eyes swivelled to see three demon grandmothers holding multi-coloured yarn staring at the two time-traveller hungrily. The fates. The gods and demigods alike stared in horror.

"Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson," began Clotho

"The two who link us all." agreed Atropos.

"They are the key to the future." hissed Lachesis. "You shall read these books," She told the whole throne room.

"Learn from your mistakes," Atropos zeroed in to Luke who shifted uncomfortably before doing the same to the gods.

"Change the horrors that come to your children." Clotho told the gods who were too dumbstruck to say anything.

"But beware, for no gift comes without a price." Atropos cried.

"Beware, beware." The other two hissed.

And in a flash, the three were gone. In their stead was ten books.

"We should begin reading." suggested Athena.

Zeus frowned. "We cannot just skip a Winter Solstice meeting!" He insisted.

"Peace, brother. We never do anything in these meetings anyway. I, for one, would like to know what their about." cut in Poseidon.

"We can't ignore a summoning from the fates." argued Artemis. She turned to Apollo, who had his his eyes shut in concentration. "Brother?"

"Hush." murmured Apollo. He opened his eyes slowly. "The prophecy. It's...gone."

"Gone?!" yelled most of the gods.

"Apollo, what do you mean 'gone'?" asked Hermes with barely contained emotions.

But Apollo wasn't listening. He shrank down to human form and walked quickly to future-Annabeth and Perseus. "What did you do?!" He demanded.

The two time-traveller exchanged glances. "It's probably my fault." interrupted Perseus.

"How so?"

Perseus grinned wickedly. "Spoilers."

Future-Annabeth gestured to the books. "We should read them, if that's what the fates want."

Hestia, who had been studying the pair with much vigour, smiled at them and summoned a sofa for them to sit on, an act they thanked her for, much to her delight.

Zeus picked up the book tentatively. "Fine. We shall read these...books. Then we shall decide what to do with the prophecy and the time-travellers."

"You'd think it was his idea." stage-whispered Hermes. Apollo snickered softly. The gods decided to let go of the prophecy-conundrum for now and relaxed into their thrones.

Zeus read out the title. " **Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief**."

Percy immediately made a face. "Our first quest." He nudged future-Annabeth who smiled at him. Luke, who had realised exactly what that meant, paled considerably. In that timeline he achieved his goal, but the fates said it could be changed. All Luke knew was that he was lightning-crisp.

Zeus turned the book over and read out the blurb. " **Look I didn't want to be Half-Blooded. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God.** **I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidently vaporised my maths teacher.** " Incredulous eyes stared at Percy for a long minute. He grinned sheepishly. " **That's when things really started going wrong.** "

"Understatement." Percy grumbled.

" **Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends and generally trying to stay alive.** "

"Sounds interesting." Travis sat up.

"A book? Have you ever picked up one?" Katie rolled her eyes. Percy hid his grin, so oblivious. Well not like he could talk.

"Brother! You betrayed me!" cried Connor in mock-sadness. He slumped over, as if dying. Travis and Hermes snickered. Demeter and Katie rolled their eyes.

"Can I start reading now?" asked Zeus in annoyance. Really, he didn't even want to read and everyone was interrupting him. The Stolls seemed to realise who they were talking to and shut up immediately.

Percy grinned and put his arm around Annabeth.

Whatever was happening, it was gonna be a show.


	2. Percy Accidently Becomes a Vaporiser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

Zeus sighed wearily, scowling down at the book.

He hated this. He didn't want to read about some demigod up-start who apparently 'has such a horrible life'. Psh. Have they ever toppled a titan lord? Didn't think so.

" **1 - I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER** " Zeus readout. That earned some looks.

"How do you accidentally vaporize your pre-algebra teacher?" asked Hermes in confusion. But Percy just waved him off with an impatient hand gesture.

" **Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.** "

"Who does?" Luke muttered bitterly. The demigods around him gave noises of agreement. Chiron looked grim. The gods exchanged concerned glances.

" **If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is:** "

"Duck and run for cover," Future-Annabeth smirked.

Silena arched a perfectly manicured brow. "Wait why?"

"He gives straight-up _crap_ as advice."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm just lucky Thalia and Nico aren't here. They'd make a whole dam scene with it."

"Nico?" Hades asked softly, as if not believing it.

"Thalia?" asked Past-Annabeth timidly. "But how-"

"Spoilers," Future-Annabeth sighed, glaring at Percy for letting something slip.

Zeus' heart gave a leap. His daughter was coming back! Hera's lip curled into the ugliest sneer you had ever seen.

" **close this book right now. Believe what-ever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.** "

Future-Annabeth frowned. "That's not half bad. It would work up until you're in middle school for the powerful kids. Maybe even high school for the less so."

Percy gave a mock bow. "I'm glad someone appreciates my brilliance."

" **Being a half-blood is dangerous.** "

"Check," Travis piped up.

" **It's scary.** "

"Double check," Connor added.

" **Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.** "

"Triple check!" The Stolls said together.

Hermes grinned. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"

All three yelped in unison as they got hit over the head.

" **If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.** "

"Don't we all," Katie mumbled.

" **But if you recognize yourself in these pages -** **if you feel something stirring inside - stop reading immediately. You might be one of us.** "

"One of us! One of us!" The Stolls chanted.

Chiron sighed. "That is the last time I let you watch Toy Story."

"You'll let us keep the movie projector though, right?" Beckendorf frowned.

" **And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.** "

"Geez, dark," Apollo muttered. The demigods shot him looks like 'you have no idea'.

" **Don't say I didn't warn you.** "

"Don't!" Silena snapped before either Stoll could say anything. Thanks to the charmspeak, their mouth snapped shut with an audible 'clop'.

" **My name is Percy Jackson.** "

"No, it's Peter Johnson," Dionysus called from behind his magazine. Percy felt laughter bubble up his throat, some things would never change.

" **I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

 **Am I a troubled kid?** "

"Yes, Seaweed Brain, you are." Future-Annabeth grinned, snuggling closer to him. Athena frowned at the closeness her daughter had to this boy.

"All half-bloods are, " Hera sneered. She was surprised to get some agreement from said half-bloods she was supposed to be insulting.

"Just eat cereal," Demeter muttered.

" **Yeah. You could say that.** "

"You weren't supposed to agree!" Clarisse laughed.

Percy smirked. "What do you want me to do, lie?"

Poseidon felt a sting of dread for his son, who he knew was right now twelve years old and going to Yancy Academy, and also called Percy Jackson.

" **I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it,** "

"Miserable?" Poseidon asked quietly.

Percy shot him a sad smile. "Not anymore."

" **but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.** "

Athena and Annabeth's eyes lit up. "That sounds-" Athena began.

Percy and Poseidon made a face. "Boring!" Poseidon cut in, so Athena glared at him.

Hades huffed a laugh at their antics. He didn't know why he enjoyed it so much but it just felt...normal? Petty rivalries, kind of like a family should be. Without cheating, kidnapping, exile, etcetera.

" **I know - it sounds like torture.** "

Athena frowned. How could her daughter be close to this boy who doesn't even appreciate museums?

Artemis rolled her eyes. Just another man who didn't know how privileged he was. Whilst girls had to fight for education, this _boy_ was complaining about it.

Hades cocked an eyebrow. That was what people considered torture? Has this boy met his furies?

Katie glared at both Stoll before they could do anything.

" **Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons,** "

Incredulous eyes turned to Chiron who smiled mysteriously. He hadn't made a house call in centuries.

Athena frowned. "'Roman'?" She spat the word out angrily.

"It's Latin class, Lady Athena, not Greek." Chiron soothed.

" **so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.** "

Athena expected her daughter to at least chide this boy for wasting his education, but she just laughed. Laughed. Athena decided she definitely disapproved. This boy was a very bad influence.

" **I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.** "

Getting in trouble, falling asleep in class, this boy was really of the worst sort. Athena couldn't see how her daughter could stand someone like that. Athena certainly couldn't. There was a reason she had a rivalry with Poseidon.

" **Boy, was I wrong.** "

"How often do you get into trouble?" Apollo asked interested.

Percy grinned. "You'll see,"

" **See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.** "

That got a burst of laughter.

Ares' eyes lit up at the explosion. "Finally, something interesting."

"Why would it still work?" Aphrodite asked, looking up from her nails.

Hephaestus frowned. "It was probably real and untouched from the battle but sectioned off. He probably wasn't supposed to go back there, dear." He told her. Aphrodite nodded along with his explanation, slipping her hand into his from her throne.

"Is he yours?" Artemis asked Hermes, trying to keep a straight face.

Hermes shook his head and grinned. "I wish,"

Luke felt a scowl grow on his face. He didn't want Cabin 11 to be even more crowded.

" **And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.** "

"Either of yours?" Demeter asked Apollo and Dionysus, who shook their heads through laughter.

"I love this kid!" Hermes declared. Luke felt a bubble of jealousy.

" **And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.** "

"Noooo!" Apollo and Hermes yelled. "Tell us more!"

" **This trip, I was determined to be good.** "

Future-Annabeth snorted and turned to Percy.

"I know, I know. I jinxed it," Percy sighed.

" **All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.** "

Percy, Future-Annabeth, Past-Annabeth, and Luke all growled in unison.

" **Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him,** "

Future-Annabeth rolled her eyes at Percy, who grinned sheepishly at his description. "Your head is full of kelp," She muttered.

" **but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.** "

Chiron frowned. He didn't expect Grover to blow his cover so easily. It was a miracle Percy didn't suspect anything. Future-Annabeth groaned.

" **Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.** "

"That's boring," Apollo muttered.

" **"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.** "

Ares sat up straighter. "Action?" He asked in excitement.

" **Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."** "

Silena frowned. "Not in your hair."

" **He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.** "

Past-Annabeth growled. She hated bullies. Especially bullies who bully her friends.

" **"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.** "

Ares slumped down. "Shit," He muttered, disappointed.

" **"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

 **Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.** "

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "You'd hit a girl?"

"Lady Artemis, plenty of girls have kicked my ass. Doesn't matter the gender. You're a bully, you're a bully." Percy deadpanned.

Poseidon glared at the book. He didn't like the sound of that. He always got so attached to his mortal children.

" **Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echo-ey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.** "

"Longer," Hera declared. She was proud their history, their family, had survived for so long.

" **He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx** "

Future-Annabeth glared at the book. Percy huffed a laugh and put his hand on her shoulder

" **on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting,** "

Athena frowned. Really? She still didn't approve of anything form of friendship with her daughter but maybe she'd keep a closer eye on him.

" **but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.** "

"That's no way for a teacher to act," Athena muttered.

" **M** **rs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker.** **She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.** "

"Was that your fault?" Dionysus asked from behind his wine magazine.

"Uh, no," Percy replied uneasily. "He's paying attention?" He whispered to Future-Annabeth who was studying Dionysus.

"I don't know," She admitted.

" **From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn.** "

"Nah," Percy disagreed with his past self. "that's Nico." Annabeth snickered. Hades looked up at the name of his son. Devil spawn...Nico...Hades couldn't help but wonder - does he get out of the casino? Does he get accepted at camp?

" **She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.** "

Hermes whistled softly. "Damn, long detention."

Travis and Connor looked at each other, trying to remember their longest detention.

Hades paled. 'Honey'. Like as in Alecto! Maybe this child had talked to his furies.

Poseidon frowned. He knew that was probably a monster. But he couldn't think which one. Echidna had really bad nicknames for her monsters but if it was then it wouldn't have been just her, she would've had one of her 'children' with her. Maybe the Nancy kid? Oh no, Poseidon did not like that thought.

" **One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight,** "

Apollo winced. "Yeesh."

" **I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."** "

Future-Annabeth groaned into her hands. "Grover!" Past-Annabeth and Luke snickered together at their friend.

Poseidon paled. Definitely a monster. How would 'Grover' know? Maybe he was a satyr. Well if he was, he wasn't doing a great job of it.

Hades winced inwardly. Yep, that was definitely Alecto.

Chiron frowned. Grover should keep his cover better.

" **Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

 **Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele,** "

"How disrespectful," Artemis frowned. This man was a real person, a real dead person. You wouldn't do that at a graveyard.

Hades glared at the book. "Don't disrespect the dead," He muttered.

Katie's lip curled. "Brat,"

" **and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"** "

"You tell her!" The Stolls whooped.

" **It came out louder than I meant it to.** "

"Always does," Clarisse mumbled. She hated when she needed to teach someone a lesson, the teachers butted in on her business. Gods, get a life.

" **The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"** "

"Ten drachmas says he doesn't know it," Hermes murmured to Apollo, who grinned wickedly and agreed.

" **I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it.** "

"Damn!" Hermes swore as Apollo took his winnings.

"You should know better than take a bet with the god of prophecies." Artemis chided.

"Sis!" Apollo whined. "Don't expose me!"

" **"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"** "

The six original gods except for Zeus all groaned and made faces.

"Why that one?" Hera whined.

"Grossest thing ever!" Demeter complained.

"It's always that one!" Poseidon mumbled.

"Ugh," Hades groaned.

"And I was in there the longest!" Hestia moaned.

Zeus grinned, he was so glad he was mother's favorite and never got to experience being eaten.

Percy frowned and turned to Future-Annabeth. "That's oddly prophetic." He mumbled to her.

"Yeah, that and the thing with the sphynx." Future-Annabeth hummed in agreement. "The thing about torture with Hades' torturers."

"All the things with me getting in trouble and jinxing myself." Percy frowned. "Though that was in past tense so maybe not."

"We'll just have to keep a lookout for more prophetic stuff." Future-Annabeth decided.

Luke shivered at the thought of his master. He needed to get that bolt and get out soon, otherwise, the plot would be revealed and Luke was dead meat.

" **"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."**

 **"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and-"** "

Zeus turned purple. "GOD?!" He roared, interrupting himself. Thunder boomed outside.

"Read on, drama king," Percy dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I get corrected."

" **"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

 **"Titan," I corrected myself.** "

Zeus deflated.

" **"And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus,** "

"I'm mother's favorite," Zeus declared proudly.

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "No it's just you were the only one who was as identical and as dense as a rock, so father couldn't tell the difference."

The rest of the gods and demigods snickered at Zeus' face.

" **and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"**

 **"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.** "

"Ew," Demeter agreed.

"Trying having to live it," Hades huffed.

" **"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."** "

"You just summed up one of the biggest wars in history," Athena said slowly. "with half a sentence."

Percy grinned wickedly. "It's a gift."

Hermes and Apollo snickered.

" **Some snickers from the group.** "

"Why, he got it right?" Hestia asked.

"'Cos that's kind of nerdy. Getting the answer right," Travis shrugged. "made him seem like a teacher's pet."

" **Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"** "

"I mean you would need to if you became a tour guide," Clarisse mumbled.

" **"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"** "

"Why would he have asked me that? Singling me out would have made Mrs. Dodds suspicious and he must've already suspected her to be a monster because Grover knew." Percy asked Future-Annabeth.

She chewed her lip. "Probably to see you knew you were a demigod," Future-Annabeth replied uneasily.

"Busted," Katie mumbled.

" **"Busted," Grover muttered.** "

"Oh no, you think like a goat!" Travis laughed.

" **"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

 **At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.** "

"More like horse ears," Apollo grinned.

" **I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

 **"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"** "

"Happy note?" Luke made a face. Chiron shouldn't be in charge of children. He should train them when they're older, not when they're in middle school.

Chiron gave him a dry smile. "No one appreciates good sarcasm."

" **The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.** "

"When do they not?" Artemis ground out.

"HEY!" All the men in the room except Percy complained.

Percy merely grinned at them. "Guys," He mock-chided. "lying is wrong." Future-Annabeth chuckled and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Athena tensed. Were they more than friends? No, no. Of course not. He was a slacker, she was a daughter of Athena. They would never work.

Past-Annabeth stared between her future self and Percy in shock.

Artemis frowned at him, surprised. He wasn't being prideful. Strange.

" **Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

 **I knew that was coming.** "

"Don't suppose that counts?" Percy grinned at Future-Annabeth.

" **I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

 **Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go - intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.** "

"They have," Past-Annabeth smiled, looking up at her mentor.

" **"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."** "

"Great answer," Clarisse snorted.

" **"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

 **I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.** "

"To keep you safe," Hestia told Percy kindly.

" **I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.** "

"That's awesome!" Laughed Travis.

" **But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life.** "

Athena's lip curled. If her daughter was dating someone like that, he would be shown to the sharp end of her spear.

" **No, he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

 **I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.** "

"I probably had," Chiron mused.

" **He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.** "

Hera frowned at her husband and her brother. "What are you two fighting about?" They both shrugged sheepishly.

" **Nobody else seemed to notice.** "

"I hate the mist," Percy mumbled.

Future-Annabeth made a face. "Remember what it did to Piper?"

" **Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse,** "

"Is she yours?" Demeter asked Hermes condescendingly.

Hermes didn't seem to notice her tone. "Of course not. She's _trying_. My kids would've already done it." He sent a wink to his kids. The Stolls puffed their chests out at the praise but Luke just ignored him.

**and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.** "

"Did it work?" Luke asked, looking Percy in the eye for the first time.

Percy shrugged uneasily. "Erm, I dunno. You'd have to ask Grover."

" **"Detention?" Grover asked.**

 **"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean-I'm not a genius."** "

"Understatement," Clarisse snickered.

" **Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"** "

That earned a few chuckles.

" **I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.** "

Future-Annabeth stared at Percy. "Really?!"

"I'm not that bad," Percy grumbled.

" **I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.** "

"Mama's boy," Ares sniggered.

Percy shot him a death glare that caused him to shrink back. "Says the one still living with his mom."

Future-Annabeth sighed contently. "Sally is _so_ great."

" **She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years** "

Hermes whistled.

" **and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

 **Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.** "

Hephaestus sat up a little straighter. Beckendorf got out a notebook and wrote something down.

 **I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends - I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists - and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.** "

Past-Annabeth and Luke were growling. Future-Annabeth and Percy were smirking as they knew what happened next.

" **"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spraypainted her face with liquid Cheetos.** "

"Okay, number one: ew," Aphrodite began. "she really needs a make-over. Number two: Nancy probably had a crush on Percy as she only really bullied his friend and did it for Percy's attention."

Percy turned green. Future-Annabeth's face was stony and she snuggled into Percy. " _Mine_ ," She decided.

Past-Annabeth flushed tomato-red, Luke and Chiron's eyebrows shot up, Athena turned as white as a sheet.

" **I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.** "

" _Poseidon_ ," Zeus growled. Hades was gripping his throne tightly. Poseidon was staring at Percy intently.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"**

**"-the water-"**

**"-like it grabbed her-"** "

" _POSEIDON_!" Zeus boomed. Hades' eye turned feral.

Poseidon sighed softly, accepting. "Peace. We will talk about this chapter." He said heavily.

Athena went porridge-grey. _Her daughter was dating a sea brat?!_

Past-Annabeth went paler and paler until she was just a salmon pink. A daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon?! They should be enemies! They weren't meant to get along and yet...Annabeth had never seen herself that comfortable with someone before.

Aphrodite sat up still at the idea of forbidden love between the sea prince and owl's daughter. What a great idea, Aphrodite mentally thanked her future self for her amazing plans.

Silena raised her eyebrows at the idea. She kind of...shipped it?

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester.** "

"You had. You just revealed yourself." Future-Annabeth told Percy.

" **"Now, honey-"** "

 **"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."** "

"Never guess your punishment!" The Stolls and Hermes yelled.

" **That wasn't the right thing to say.** "

"Of course it wasn't," Clarisse grumbled.

" **"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.** "

"Don't!" Poseidon cried. "That's a monster."

"No shit," Hera rolled her eyes.

" **"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."**

 **I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.** "

"Yeah, for a good reason," Hades mumbled.

" **She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But-"**

**"You-will-stay-here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.** "

Future-Annabeth and Ares shivered.

" **Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.** "

"No it's the mist," Athena told him.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I know now."

" **I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.** "

Poseidon glared at Chiron, who winced softly.

" **I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.** "

"Of course, it's never that easy," Percy muttered. Poseidon shivered in fear.

" **I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

 **Except for us, the gallery was empty.** "

"No witnesses," Ares mumbled.

" **Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

 **Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...** "

"She probably did," Percy mused.

" **"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

 **I did the safe thing.** "

Future-Annabeth stared at her boyfriend. "'Safe thing', really?"

" **I said, "Yes, ma'am."** "

"Safe, respectful, what's up with you?" Future-Annabeth demanded.

" **She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.** "

"Ah, so naïve," Percy sighed. Poseidon shivered. He did not like the sound of that.

" **I said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."** "

"You know," Percy told Future-Annabeth conversationally. "that sounds really bad in context."

" **Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.** "

"I love this kid," Apollo laughed.

" **Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.** "

"Have you?" Athena demanded.

Percy sighed heavily. "Yeah, Annabeth made me read it."

" **"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shrivelled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.** "

"A FURY!" Poseidon shouted. "HADES, YOU SENT A FURY AFTER MY SON?!"

"I haven't done it yet," Hades muttered.

"We're talking after," Hestia reminded him, frowning disapprovingly at Hades.

" **Then things got even stranger.**

 **Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.** "

Artemis tensed, thinking back to her Zoe.

" **"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword** "

Artemis sighed heavily and glared at Chiron and Percy. Zoe's property should not be in the hands of a _man_.

" **\- Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.** "

"Wimp," Ares sniggered. He subsequently got dowsed in seawater.

" **She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

 **And she flew straight at me.** "

Poseidon was shaking.

" **Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.** "

"Naturally?" Luke asked.

"Fight or flight," Future-Annabeth told him, not looking him in the eye.

" **The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

 **Mrs. Dodds was a sandcastle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.** "

"You defeated a fury...just like that?" Hades asked timidly.

"Uh, yeah," Percy grinned sheepishly. "Oops."

" **I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.** "

"No, Travis," Katie told him before he could say anything. "Those aren't a real thing." The Stolls deflated.

" **Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.** "

Hera looked at Zeus suspiciously.

" **Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."** "

"Who?" Most of the throne room asked.

" **I said, "Who?"** "

"You all think like me," Percy laughed.

" **"Our teacher. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.** "

"Rude," Luke mumbled.

" **I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.** "

"Grover," Past-Annabeth groaned.

" **"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

 **Thunder boomed overhead.** "

Zeus suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

" **I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"** "

"Now that's how you lie," Hermes said approvingly. Artemis hit him over the head.

" **"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

 **He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"** "

"Note for the future Chiron," Percy piped up. "When this does happen, explain it to me, take me to Camp Half-Blood. Don't me feel like a psycho."

Chiron grinned slightly sheepishly. "Sorry, Percy."

"I'm hungry," Connor whined.

Clarisse stared at him. "It was literally just lunch."

"How about every three chapters we have a break," Hestia suggested. Luke decided maybe then he would make his move, best to get out of Olympus before they discover his secret.

"Poseidon how could you break the oath?!" Zeus thundered.

"Are we going to have this discussion now?" Poseidon asked. "Let's read the books, you can decide whether or not to kill him. But judging by this book title, you might have bigger things to worry about brother."

Zeus' eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?" He asked quietly.

"Can we talk about how Hades sent a fury after my son?!"

"I'm sure it will be explained," Hades argued.

"Boys!" Demeter snapped but they kept arguing.

Aphrodite took a breath. "SHUT UP!" All mouths snapped shut.

" _Maybe_ if we finish the books, we might know what to do in the future," Artemis told them.

"That was the fates' plan," Athena agreed.

"Let's just get on with it," Dionysus ground out. Ares hummed in agreement. Hephaestus didn't look up from behind his notebook. Zeus handed the book to Hera, who took it gingerly as if it hurt her.

" **2 - THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH**."


	3. Percy is NOT Allowed to Try On Socks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

" **2 - THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH** " Hera readout.

"What is it with the vague and weird chapter titles?" Connor grumbled rhetorically.

All the gods, Chiron, and Future-Annabeth had stopped and paled.

Zeus looked pleased. Good, the half-blood would die and they never needed to worry about him overthrowing them. But deep down he knew that wasn't going to happen if the sea brat had lived to college age.

Poseidon looked seasick, which is quite ironic. His son, his baby boy, was destined to die. He knew that Percy was always going to die someday, but preferably at the age of one-hundred with kids and grandkids crowded around, not at twelve before he even met his father! Rationally, Poseidon knew his son obviously didn't die at the age of twelve if he was sitting right in front of them at the age of _, but love makes people irrational.

Chiron looked down at his hands, feeling grim. Another one of his students was going to die a painful death. He made a mental note to change this. Percy was a bright and good child. He would train him harder than any demigod before if he had to.

Future-Annabeth looked at her boyfriend in horror. He had never mentioned this. He knew he was going to die since he was twelve. Kind of like she did with the prophecy...

"How are you still alive?" Apollo breathed.

"I ask myself that question every day," Percy winked, but he only got a few dry chuckles from the past-demigods.

"Time and place, Percy," Future-Annabeth told him sharply, as white as a sheet.

Hera steeled herself. This was a half-blood they were talking about. Why should she care if he lived or died? She read on.

" **I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.** "

"No, Travis and Connor," Katie said quickly when both Stolls' eyes lit up.

" **The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr - a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip - had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

 **Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.** "

"You are a psycho," Clarisse snickered. Percy rolled his eyes at her.

" **It got so I almost believed them - Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

 **Almost.** "

"Grover?" Connor guessed.

"Obviously," Luke smiled genuinely for the first time in a while, thinking back to his old friend.

" **But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.** "

"Right," Travis sighed dejectedly. "we'll have to schedule lessons then. I think we have an opening on Tuesdays, five o'clock?"

Connor nodded firmly in agreement. "Goat boy is not getting out of this one."

" **Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.** "

"Noo, really?" Past-Annabeth mumbled sarcastically. She didn't understand the chapter title, nor did she understand how she was dating a child of _Poseidon_ , and both grated on her nerves.

" **I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.** "

Poseidon shot Hades a death glare. Hades had the decency to look a little guilty about it.

" **The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.** "

Eyes turned to Zeus and Poseidon, who shrugged in unison.

Luke's hands curled into fists. They were punishing mortals for their own stupidity, Luke knew he was right to be against them, and plenty of others saw that. Soon enough, he would unravel this dumb hierarchy and demigods would be at the top.

" **I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.** "

"You're a child of Poseidon," Athena sneered. "it's implied."

Poseidon glared at her, all snarky remarks had disappeared once they read the title, but Percy had no such qualms.

"I'm a _demigod_ ," Percy stressed. "it's implied. Hello, ADHD and dyslexia."

" **I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

 **Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.** "

Past-Annabeth was laughing to herself, even Future-Annabeth couldn't stop the snicker.

Percy frowned at her. "What does it mean?"

"It means drunkard," Future-Annabeth replied, shoulders shaking.

"So, Mr. D then?" Percy grinned. "D'ye reckon that counts as 'me being prophetic'?"

Future-Annabeth shrugged easily. "Don't think I've forgotten about the title." She warned. Percy winced.

" **The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.** "

Aphrodite cooed. She loved all types of love, not just romantic.

" **I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.** "

Future-Annabeth frowned. "But Paul-"

"Not Paul." Percy cut her off, stone-faced.

Future-Annabeth's eyes widened as she thought back to their first quest. Her lip curled. The asshole who made her Percy into a criminal. She squeezed her hands into fists so hard her knuckles turned white. Percy had told her exactly what that _thing_ did to him, after much pressing.

" **And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.** "

"Don't tell Thalia I said that," Percy pleaded.

Future-Annabeth didn't laugh, thinking about all the ways to torture someone. Maybe she could get Thalia's help. And Nico's. They are both quite protective of their family. Yes, that's what she would do.

" **I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.** "

Hestia gave Percy a bright smile. She was happy to see such a kind soul. Not many existed today. But something told Hestia that Percy had changed. He wasn't as pure anymore. The world was a hard place. She didn't like that thought.

" **I'd miss Latin class, too - Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.** "

Chiron sent Percy a sad smile, one he returned.

" **As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.** "

Athena was once again brought back to the question, how could her daughter stand dating someone like that? A slacker and a son of Poseidon.

" **I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.** "

"Good," Ares said approvingly. It was best to be prepared for any situation. And plus, this would provide more action and enjoyment for him.

Percy looked to Future-Annabeth surprised. Ares was _approving_ of _him_.

Clarisse felt a sting of jealousy that she tried to push down. Why couldn't her father be like that with her, not some random of demigod?

" **The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.** "

Athena glared so fiercely at Percy, people were afraid he might catch on fire.

" **Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.** "

"I hate dyslexia." Beckendorf muttered. It was very annoying when trying to read a manual or instructions. That was one reason he was such a good builder, he usually had to do it himself.

Other demigods nodded along with Beckendorf.

" **There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces.** "

"I know them now," Percy declared. "I've learnt that I learn better hands-on."

"Chiron and Charon," Future-Annabeth mused. There was another bit of prophetic knowledge that Percy had thought. She didn't think Percy had ever come across Polydictes and Polydeuces before. Although, the story of Polydictes did remind her of what happened to Gabe with the original Perseus. And Pollux was the nickname for Polydeuces, like the sons of Dionysus, and Castor died in the modern day version too. Future-Annabeth made a mental note to refresh her knowledge rare Greek myths.

" **And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.** "

"I can do that now too," Percy said brightly. "Lupa taught me a lot of it."

That caused the gods to freeze. "Lupa?"

Percy seemed to realise his mistake. "Ah, erm, spoilers...?"

" **I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.** "

"Oh, I know," Silena sympathised.

"How do you know what that feels like?" Beckendorf asked curiously.

Silena jutted her chin out to the Stolls, who were looking very sheepish and were staring at Beckendorf's muscle-y arms in fear.

" **I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**

 **I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.** "

"Determined," Hephaestus murmured.

" **I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.** "

Percy blushed while Aphrodite cooed again. He was just too cute!

" **I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

 **I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... worried about Percy, sir."** "

Everybody but the time-travellers leaned forward in interest.

" **I froze.**

 **I'm not usually an eavesdropper,** "

"I call bullshit," Future-Annabeth declared.

" **but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.** "

"Fair enough," Apollo sighed.

" **I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."** "

"You'd still be waiting," Clarisse sniggered, breaking the tension slightly. Percy pouted.

" **"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline-"** "

Athena mentally filed that information away. Okay, something needs to happen before the summer solstice of 2006. It's got to happen between now and then.

" **"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he saw her... ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I-I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."** "

"You didn't fail!" Both Annabeths protested.

Luke remained silent. He would be lying if he said he didn't resent Grover a little bit for what happened to Thalia. He knew it wasn't his fault, she made her own decision, but Luke couldn't help but think of what-ifs from time-to-time. Really, it was the gods' fault. She should've never been in that position in the first place.

Zeus gripped his lightning bolt slightly tighter. The satyr did fail. He was supposed to protect his daughter, and his daughter alone. He should've sacrificed himself for her, that way she would get to camp, and the son of Poseidon would probably end up dying along the way.

" **"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

 **The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.** "

"No! Rule one, never draw attention!" Connor shouted.

" **Mr. Brunner went silent.**

 **My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.** "

"At least you're following rules three and four," Travis exhaled.

"Which are?" Katie rubbed her face warily. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like this.

"Rule three: Evacuate the crime scene as quickly as possible. Rule four: Never leave evidence," Luke counted off.

Hermes beamed proudly at his children, but Luke's mood didn't improve like his brothers.

" **A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.** "

"Chiron!" Travis whined. "At least follow rule two, always stay in disguise. That's child play!"

"What were you doing out of your wheelchair?" Past-Annabeth asked curiously, ignoring the son of Hermes.

"I most likely needed to stretch my legs." Chiron answered calmly. His heart was pounding. What was happening on the summer solstice and how did it put his students in danger?

" **I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.** "

"Good, rule five: remain hidden," Connor sighed.

"How many rules are there?" Clarisse demanded.

"Five," Percy, Travis, Connor, Luke, Hermes, and Apollo all answered automatically.

"And how would you know that?" Future-Annabeth questioned suspiciously.

Percy paled, realising his mistake. "N-no reason. Read on please!"

" **A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."** "

Beckendorf winced. "Poor satyrs have to take exams so many times just to help us half-bloods."

"Finally," Dionysus grumbled. "someone appreciates satyrs."

"They have to take two times the exams of a normal human," Hermes mused.

" **The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

 **I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.** "

"Good," Hermes said approvingly. "patience is key."

" **Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm. Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.** "

"So he can't lie but he can act," Artemis thought out loud.

" **"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.** "

"That won't work," Athena said pompously.

"Yeah, but he didn't know Grover was a satyr then," Future-Annabeth pointed out, defending her boyfriend. Athena frowned. Why wasn't her daughter of her side.

"Besides," Percy said conversationally. "I'm a child of Poseidon. Grover told me later that he usually finds my emotions too complicated to read." Poseidon beamed. He was glad how proud Percy seemed at being a son of Poseidon.

" **I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing. But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.** "

"You're a demigod," Clarisse said slowly.

" **The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,** "

"Chiron!" Most of the demigods whined.

"That's torture!" Connor groaned.

"You of all people should know how bad that is," Katie protested.

"It was a test," Chiron replied easily.

"Yeah, obviously," Travis rolled his eyes. "It's an _exam_ ," He stressed.

Chiron chuckled. "No, I mean, it was a test of emotional strength. I wanted to see if he could take it. I do that every time I make a house call."

"Oh," Travis slumped down, cheeks flushed, looking quite embarrassed.

" **my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's... it's for the best."** "

Silena winced. "No offense, Chiron, but you're really not that great with words."

" **His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.** "

"Brat," Beckendorf grunted.

" **I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

 **"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."** "

Luke flinched. Ouch. Poor kid. He looked at Percy appraisingly. He was always surprised when a demigod came out alright after so much childhood trauma.

" **My eyes stung.**

 **Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.** "

"Oh," Chiron realised. "I'm sorry, child. That was not my-"

"It's fine Chiron," Percy interrupted. "I now know what you meant."

" **"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"**

**"Thanks," I blurted out. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy-"**

**But I was already gone.** "

The other demigods gave Percy pitying looks but he ignored them. He didn't want to be pitied. He wanted to be respected. Big difference.

" **On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

 **The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities.** "

Future-Annabeth grinned wickedly at Percy. "Don't let Piper or Rachel hear you say that."

Percy made a face. "They'd kick my ass."

" **I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.** "

"Rude," Apollo joked before Zeus or Hera could start spewing insults.

" **They asked me what I'd be doing this summer** "

"That's nice of them," Hestia smiled.

" **and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.** "

"I stand corrected," Hestia muttered.

Artemis growled. She hated men who picked on anyone, not just girls.

" **The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,** "

"Stalker," Travis mumbled.

" **so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"** "

Percy snickered to himself. "I probably gave him a heart-attack."

" **Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"**

 **I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.** "

"No! Rule zero!" Connor screeched.

"The most important rule!" Travis moaned.

"Zero?!" Past-Annabeth cried.

"Why zero?" Future-Annabeth questioned.

"'Cos it's supposed to be a given," Percy grinned. Future-Annabeth frowned at him. Hermes smirked sitting up.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Don't corrupt my son, Hermes."

Silena asked. "What's rule ten?"

"Never ever EVER confess!" The Stolls shouted in unison, making both Katie and Clarisse hit them over the head.

" **Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

 **"Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"** "

"So, just about all of it." Ares snickered.

" **He winced. "Look, Percy... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers..."**

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

**His ears turned pink.** "

Apollo snickered

" **From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

 **The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,** "

"Why is it like that?" Demeter asked Dionysus, who rolled his eyes.

"If I'm stuck in that place, I need small victories for my entertainment," He grunted.

Zeus frowned. Dionysus was supposed to build up the youth, not tear them down (though, Zeus could see why, what with the sea brat running around. Thank the gods there are no children of Hades).

" **but I finally made out something like:**

**'Grover Underwood  
Keeper  
Half-Blood Hill  
Long Island, New York  
(800) 009-0009'**

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.** "

Future-Annabeth hit Percy over the head.

"Sorry!"

" **"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"** "

"Percy!" Future-Annabeth scolded.

"I'm sorry alright! Jealousy's a bitch," Percy yelped.

" **It came out harsher than I meant it to.** "

"Good," Hestia sighed. At least he regretted it.

" **Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.** "

Hestia smiled at Percy.

"What an adorable bromance!" Aphrodite squealed.

Artemis stared at Percy. He was...different to any man she had come across. She vowed to keep a closer eye on him. Although, this was when he was only a child. Now he was a man. A lot can change in eight years.

" **And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.** "

"That can't be a coincidence," Hades mumbled.

" **After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

 **We were on a stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.** "

"Monsters always have some form of business," Future-Annabeth said casually.

"Like a donut shop! Or a stall in Bargain Mart! Or a Garden Emporium!" Percy said brightly, earning some chuckles and breaking the tension.

" **The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.** "

The gods and Chiron stared in horror at Percy, who was tugging with a loose string in his shirt to avoid looking at Future-Annabeth. The rest of the demigods frowned in confusion.

" **I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.** "

Past-Annabeth sucked in a breath sharply. Luke tried to get her to look at him but she just shook her head.

" **All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.** "

It slowly dawned on the rest of the demigods who these people were, and one-by-one, they all froze.

" **The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.** "

Poseidon started to chant in ancient Greek. Future-Annabeth was gripping Percy's hand so tight, her nail beginning to dig into his skin.

" **I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"** "

"That's not funny!" Surprisingly, it was Ares would snapped this.

" **"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

 **The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.** "

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Future-Annabeth chanted. Poseidon's words got louder and louder. The past-demigods listened in horror.

" **"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

 **"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."** "

"GET ON THE BUS!" Most of the throne room yelled.

" **"Come on!'"**

 **He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.** "

"Noo!" Past-Annabeth moaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Stop being so damn stubborn, for once in your life..." Annabeth trailed off into some curses that would put Arion to shame.

" **Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn,** "

Future-Annabeth could swear her heart stopped at that. She looked ready to run out the room, but Percy was gripping her hand to keep her grounded.

" **and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic.** "

Poseidon's chanting stopped and you could see the shear pain on his face.

" **Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for - Sasquatch or Godzilla.** "

No one even smiled.

" **At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.** "

"Not a coincidence." Percy mumbled.

**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.** "

Future-Annabeth's shoulders tightened. She let out a broken sob.

" **Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"** "

"Everything," Clarisse mumbled.

" **He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost - older.** "

"Observant," Athena muttered.

" **He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

 **"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.** "

"Probably because of all the mythology we'd learnt," Percy explained.

" **"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."** "

Luke looked down at the mention.

" **"What happened last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me,** "

"Just promise it." Poseidon groaned.

" **but I promised he could.** "

"Thank the gods."

" **"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover - that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.** "

"I wonder what he chose," Percy joked. No one laughed. "Oh come on! I'm right here! I'm obviously not dead and I'm not gonna die anytime soon!"

"Your cord got snipped!" Future-Annabeth told him quietly. "You should know...what with Hazel and Leo," No one questioned what that meant.

"It's not mine!" Percy insisted.

"Well the only way that would by if..." Future-Annabeth stopped talking, searching Percy's face for conformation. "if their string was entwined with yours," She finished breathlessly.

"Exactly! One or the other. And I'm damn lucky the fates chose the other!"

The tension in Future-Annabeth's shoulders broke and she practically collapsed on her boyfriend, tears running down her cheeks. Percy didn't seem to mind and held her close, murmuring soothing words to her that made her calm down and give the occasional watery chuckle.

After making sure Future-Annabeth was okay, Percy held his father's gaze. "I'm fine," He told him forcefully.

Then Poseidon did something that shocked all the demigods and gods.

_He shrank down to human form and gave his son a hug._

The other demigods watched in awe and jealousy at the affection, and Percy didn't even seem surprised. Luke did though. He felt a sting of astonishment that Poseidon _cared_. Maybe they wouldn't kill him off when the apocalypse comes.

Chiron smiled lightly. If anyone deserved parental affection, it was Percy. Although, Chiron thought, Percy was probably a more accomplished man in the future.

The other gods looked very uncomfortable. Zeus was grumbling about the ancient laws. Hermes looked to his children regretfully.

"Right," Hades coughed.

"I think we should do one more chapter, then we can have a break." Hestia said, beaming at Poseidon. He was always her favourite brother. Sure, she felt pity for Hades, but Poseidon was better to her and to her family, despite all his and Zeus' quarrels.

Slowly, almost apologetically, Poseidon went back to his throne. He took the book from Hera and readout the chapter title.

" **3 - GROVER UNEXPECTEDLY LOSES HIS PANTS** "


	4. When Your Protector Can't Find His Pants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.
> 
> WARNING: Talk and memories of child abuse, it does get a bit graphic. If you are easily triggered by this, I have warnings in place of where to start and stop.  
> There is also making out in here, but it doesn't go any further than tongue

" **3 GROVER UNEXPECTEDLY LOSES HIS PANTS** " Poseidon readout, the corners of his lips twitching up. He knew that probably meant Grover was a satyr, but still a funny mental picture.

Connor and Travis snickered to themselves. Beckendorf looked to be fighting a smile.

"Gee, Percy," Hermes grinned. "Didn't know you swung that way."

Percy turned red and made incoherent sounds. Future-Annabeth laughed and kissed him, like she did when he did something stupid.

Past-Annabeth and Luke rolled their eyes. Childish. They both knew that their friend did not need pants.

" **Confession time** **:** "

"What did we tell you about confessing," Travis sighed dramatically.

" **I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.** "

"Percy!" Future-Annabeth hissed.

Hestia frowned disapprovingly. "He was only trying to help."

**I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade?"**

"Fair enough," Clarisse agreed.

Past-Annabeth sighed but nodded too. She probably would've done the same as she hated not knowing things. Although, that probably wasn't the same reason Percy had.

" **Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up,** "

The Stolls snickered. Katie hit each of them over the head.

" **so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

 **"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.** "

Travis' eyes lit up.

Percy rolled his. "I don't live there anymore."

Travis deflated but Connor grinned. "Then we'll just have to see when the time comes for you to move."

Percy froze. He really, _really_ , hoped that wouldn't come up in the books. His mom didn't need more things to worry about, what with Estelle being a toddler. Yes, he loved her like no one else (except Annabeth and his mom), but she was a little trouble maker when she wanted to be. Honestly, he couldn't be more proud.

" **A word about my mother, before you meet her.** "

"Awesome!" Percy yelled.

"So sweet," Future-Annabeth laughed quietly at her boyfriend's antics. "so kind."

"Amazing," Poseidon smiled wistfully.

The gods exchanged glances. Whoever this woman was, if she could make the god of the sea act like that then they all wanted to meet her.

" **Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.** "

"Definitely," Luke agreed, thinking back to his own mother. He vaguely remembered what she was like before she went mad but it wasn't enough for any real relationship.

Hermes smiled at him sadly as if he knew what he was thinking.

Well he didn't, Luke thought viciously, scowling. Hermes didn't know shit.

" **Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five,** "

Everyone glared at Zeus, who mumbled an apology.

Future-Annabeth frowned. "Does that count? With her getting with Poseidon?" She whispered thoughtfully, thinking aloud.

" **and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program.** "

Athena's eyes widened in surprise. This woman was intelligent. She assumed all of Poseidon's flings would be bimbos, like Medusa.

" **Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him.** "

Athena frowned, she couldn't believe she was sympathising with one of Poseidon's flings but, no one should not have access to education.

" **After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.** "

Artemis' hands curled into fists. She wished she could've been there. She could've taken Sally into her hunt when she was still a maiden. Rescue her.

" **The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.** "

Poseidon grinned, lost in his memories.

" **I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.** "

Apollo cocked his head to the side. "You were there when he was born?" He frowned. That went against ancient laws.

Poseidon shook his head, smiling mysteriously.

" **My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad.** "

Poseidon's smile turned downwards. He missed Sally, he really did. He wished he could've done more.

" **She has no pictures.**

 **See, they weren't married.** "

"For good reason," Hera sneered. She ignored the glares. Really, why were they being sympathetic towards a _mortal_?! Hera despised mortals. They always ruined the family picture. _Every_. _Damn_. _Time_.

" **She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey,** "

"Yeah, to be with his family," Hera rolled her eyes. Percy turned his wolf stare on her and Hera shrank back.

" **and he never came back.**

 **Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.** "

"Not lying, but not telling the truth," Hermes mumbled. He turned to Poseidon, speaking louder. "I like this one, Uncle P." Poseidon smiled but didn't say anything.

" **She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.** "

"Obviously," Clarisse snickered.

" **Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano,** "

_**TALK OF ABUSE FROM HERE** _

Percy's scowl deepened. His gaze dropped to the floor and his nails dug into his skin. His instincts were screaming at him to _run run run_ , just like they used to do when he was young and Gabe was drunk. Percy felt the memories threaten to overthrow him and pushed them down into his gut. He hated himself for feeling like that. Gabe wasn't here anymore, he shouldn't be afraid of him.

Future-Annabeth looked ready to spit fire. That _monster_ had hurt Sally Jackson, the woman Future-Annabeth considered her mothering figure, and Percy, _her_ Percy. Future-Annabeth may have never met Lupa, but you mess with one wolf, you mess with the whole pack. She made a mental note to tell Nico about this and get a special punishment for him in the underworld, preferably with Thalia, Reyna, and the rest of the seven's help.

_**END OF TALK OF ABUSE** _

Everyone else frowned in confusion at the reaction. If this one mortal could make them react like that, they pitied to think what he did.

" **who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.** "

Future-Annabeth frowned at the thought. So Percy had some idea at how bad he smelled. She knew her Seaweed Brain was much more than anyone gave him credit for.

Athena's eyes widened. Was that the plan? Was... no. No one who had fucked Poseidon could ever have been that intelligent.

" **Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard.** "

_**TALK OF ABUSE FROM HERE** _

Percy winced guiltily.

His Annabeth gripped his hand. "It is _not_ your fault." She whispered in his ear, but everyone heard her.

"But I-" Percy tried to protest but his Annabeth cut him off.

" _Percy_ ," She warned.

Percy slumped down. He knew, deep down, it wasn't his fault, but he should've been there to protect his mom. She was one of his people. Percy should've tried harder.

His Annabeth, knowing she didn't convince Percy in the slightest, put her arms around him, leaned up against him, her forehead pressing against his, and the pair snuggled together, eyes shut, before his Annabeth ducked her head. His Annabeth's head always fit perfectly under his chin, their bodies practically moulding together. Not even Athena had the heart to break them up.

" **The way Smelly Gabe treated her,** "

Percy and Future-Annabeth growled deep in their chests. Poseidon went still, if that mortal put a hand on her...

" **the way he and I got along...** "

Future-Annabeth hugged her boyfriend tightly. Poseidon's pupils went small. Percy looked downcast. Artemis glared at the book. No child should be treated badly.

" **well, when I came home is a good example.**

 **I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.** "

Percy's hands curled into fists, memories of different poker nights threatened to overtake him. He hated Gabe, _hated him_.

" **Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."** "

Poseidon let out an animalistic sound.

" **"Where's my mom?"**

 **"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"** "

Hestia's eyes widened.

Demigods sent Percy pitying looks that he couldn't see from where his nose was buried in Annabeth's hair.

The gods looked between themselves, were their children's home lives like that?

Artemis sighed, remembering all the abuse she had saved girls from. Now she was wishing she could save boys too. She was the goddess of _childbirth_. She was supposed to be the protector of children. Artemis should be able to save everyone in their youth. Maybe she could bring this up with father later.

Hera frowned, demigods may be awful, but no one should treat their family like that. That was why her family was the best.

" **That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?** "

Future-Annabeth held Percy tighter whilst Percy played with her blonde curls.

" **Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.** "

Aphrodite looked sick at the description.

His Annabeth gripped Percy even tighter of that was possible.

Percy's breathing shortened. His head went fuzzy. Sweat dripped down his forehead slowly. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He felt like he was drowning in his own mind.

Percy's thoughts flew back to when he was younger, when he was so naïve, thinking of superheroes and fantasy-lands, back when Gabe had put his hand on him the first time. Gabe looming over him like the devil, hands raised with a broken bottle in one hand, some alcohol (probably Heineken), the blood gushing down his face, tears spilling across his cheeks, the searing pain in his forehead (that he'd had to cover up with his mom's make up without her knowing)... 

Percy thoughts were stopped by two fingers gently pressing his eyes closed and soft counting in his ear. Percy relaxed and let his breathing chime in with his Annabeth's.

_1, 2, 3, 4, 5_

_1, 2, 3, 4, 5_

After a moment to collect himself, Percy felt a wave of exhaustion. He was glad this didn't turn out to be a full-scale fit.

Percy softly kissed his Annabeth on the cheek and tugged her warm body more against him, pulling her closer still. His Annabeth told Poseidon he could read on.

" **He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer.** "

Dionysus frowned deeply. He may be the god of drinking but that didn't mean he liked drunks. Maybe he had cursed this mortal for being such a scoundrel subconsciously. He did that sometimes.

Demeter looked close to tears. This was the kind of guy she hated. To be fair, she didn't like most men. In a way, she thought, despite Hades living in the underworld and being a low-life creep and not being worth a quarter of Persephone's time, he really wasn't that bad to Persephone. She could've gotten far worse.

" **Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds.** "

Hestia scowled deeply.

" **He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.** "

Everyone stilled.

Everybody quieted.

Everything stopped.

All Percy could hear was his and his Annabeth's hearts hammering in their chests together, both quite sped up.

He stoked her hair slowly, feeling the soft strands between his fingertips, distracting himself from the stares of pity and horror.

His Annabeth squeezed him softly.

One short. One long. Two short.

_'Two short. One long_

_Three short. One long_

_There was a pregnant pause_

_Two short. One long'_

After the pit, both he and his Annabeth had learnt morse-code (from Leo) as a way of telling the other they were uncomfortable, or panicking, or in danger, or anything really.

'Luv u'

That was all she said.

And that was enough.

She was reassuring him he was going to be fine. Showing him he had nothing to prove to these people. This was his life, his secret. They had each other. They would get through this, they always did.

It had a thousand meanings, and Percy concentrated on remaining calm and replying.

He squeezed her softly back.

' _One long. One short. One long_ '

'K'

He wasn't sure about everything yet. He knew he didn't need to be. He knew they were together. He knew that was enough.

_**END OF TALK OF ABUSE** _

His Annabeth looked up at him and entwined her hands around his neck, pulling him closer.

She kissed his chastely at first. It may have been soft but Percy didn't need fiery passion right now.

He needed reassurance. And she knew that better than anyone.

Slowly as it got deeper, Percy found himself needing more than just touches. He needed promises. Hot, close promises.

And she knew that.

Her tongue lined the outside of his mouth and Percy allowed access quickly. Their tongues danced in their hot caves, squeezing and touching.

He mapped out her mouth, seeking promise that she really was there with him and no she wasn't going to leave, getting lost in the tastes and smells of his Annabeth.

Percy's hands, that had been resting casually on her waist, cupped her ass to lift her on him more, rather than offside like they had been snuggling.

Air broken them apart, flushed cheeks nearly splitting from big smiles, heaving panting as the two wrapped themselves together.

His Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder, breathing heavily. Percy dipped his head into her neck and pressed soft love bites and hickeys into her skin, snuggling closer.

A cough brought them back to reality.

Both he and Future-Annabeth flushed bright red and looked like deer in headlights, earning some snickers. Past-Annabeth was blushing like no tomorrow, hiding her face in her hands. Luke looked split between staring in horror like Clarisse and Ares and Hephaestus, frowning overprotectively like Beckendorf and Katie and Athena and Artemis, cackling and catcalling like Travis and Connor and Apollo and Hermes, or looking ready to burst like Silena and Aphrodite and Poseidon and Chiron. The rest of the gods looked indifferent or vaguely amused.

"Percy-" Poseidon tried once the laughter died down, looking at his son seriously.

"It was in the past," Percy cut him off. "I've been going to therapy about everything since it ended. Group therapy," He smiled down at Future-Annabeth. "I'm fine now."

Poseidon nodded slowly. "Still, we'll have Apollo check you over at the break."

Percy was about to protest but a look from Future-Annabeth stopped him.

He reminded himself Poseidon wasn't dong this for Percy's sake but Poseidon's.

Percy sighed but steeled himself, nodding in acceptance.

He told his father to read on.

" **"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.** "

Athena's eyes widened again in realisation. Maybe one of Poseidon's flings actually know something? Wow. It was the only way a woman would put up with something like that.

Future-Annabeth smiled lightly. There it was again. Percy being smarter than people thought he was.

" **"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change.** "

"Wow, he can do math," Connor mumbled sarcastically. Demigods knew better than anyone that they didn't want pity or charity, they wanted help and support. Big difference.

" **Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

 **Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."** "

"At least one of them is decent," Artemis muttered viciously.

" **"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.**

 **Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.** "

Aphrodite, who had been looking at 'Percabeth' with joy, squeaked out her disgust. Hephaestus ran a few fingers over her hand reassuringly, Ares doing the same to the other. Instead of glaring at each other and making this into a competition like usual, they worked together to calm Aphrodite down.

When Hestia wiggled her eyebrows at the two, Hephaestus flushed pink and shut his eyes, Ares gripped his throne slightly tighter and decidedly looking anywhere but Hephaestus. Aphrodite looked between them and let out a screech of excitement. That was her favorite ship. The three of them together.

" **"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."** "

"Oh, he will," Dionysus murmured, making Percy looked at him in surprise. "What are you looking at, Perry Johansson?!" He snapped.

" **"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

 **I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.** "

Apollo wrinkled his nose, imagining the smells.

" **I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.** "

"I love good sarcasm," Katie muttered.

" **Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.** "

The throne room shivered at the reminders. They had almost forgotten about that, what with finding out about the abuse and the different ships.

" **But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic - how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone, something, was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.** "

A big dopey smile crossed Percy, Future-Annabeth, and Poseidon's features. Everyone else leaned forward in interest.

" **My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.** "

Athena smiled at the description. Kind, smart, beautiful. This seemed like the dream woman. How did Poseidon manage to catch that? She herself wouldn't mind a brain-child with that saint. Athena immediately flinched back, reminding herself that _this was one of Poseidon's flings_.

" **"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

 **Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.** "

The Stolls' eyes lit up.

Hestia laughed softly at the pair. "We will be eating after this."

" **We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?** "

Artemis smiled. This woman seemed like a real saint. A pity she wasn't a maiden or Artemis would've had her in her hunt without a second thought. Lord knows Zoe needs some smothering.

" **I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.** "

"Fragile masculinity and all that." Future-Annabeth teased.

" **From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"** "

Surprisingly, it was Hestia who growled deeply in her throat. Her sibling looked at her in surprise. Hestia was usually so soft-spoken. Although, no one could blame her with that pig walking around.

" **I gritted my teeth.** "

Along with just about everyone in the throne room.

" **My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.** "

Percy sighed dramatically. "I guess a teacher will have to do."

"Is he good enough for her?" Poseidon asked. Poseidon was happy if Sally was happy. He knew she needed a break, some more love in her life whilst she gave away hers like she gave away her blue free-samples to Percy.

"No one is," Percy snorted. "But he's good to her. He's good to me. I've got a little sister too. Estelle," A big dumb smile stretched his features. He loved his little sister. He really did.

" **For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner.** "

Chiron sent him a smile.

" **Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

**Until that trip to the museum...**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."** "

"Percy," Future-Annabeth chided.

"You shouldn't lie to your mom," Hera muttered viciously. Demeter and Hestia nodding along with her.

" **I felt bad lying.** "

"Good," Demeter mumbled.

" **I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.** "

"Not to her," Future-Annabeth muttered.

" **She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.** "

"Best. Mom. Ever," Percy stressed.

Hera frowned. _She_ was the best mom with the best family. Not some mortal.

" **"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

 **My eyes widened. "Montauk?"** "

Poseidon sat up excitedly. His eyes shined in remembrance, to back when he first saw Sally.

" **"Three nights, same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.** "

"More like he spent it all," Clarisse grunted, looking pissed.

" **Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

 **I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while.** "

"Nice tactic," Hermes murmured.

" **Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"** "

"Of course," Beckendorf growled.

" **"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

 **"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step-father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel** "

"'Gabriel'?" Connor mimed puking.

" **won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."** "

"I love this woman," Hermes decided.

" **Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"** "

Aphrodite gasped, tears springing to her eyes. That seemed to be the last straw. Hephaestus stroked her hair soothingly. Ares gave her a half-hug from his throne.

" **"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful." Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.** "

"Do it, do it!" Ares chanted, jiggling himself nearly off his throne. Hephaestus laughed softly, making Ares blush and mutter something.

" **But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

 **Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?** "

"For you Perce," Future-Annabeth murmured in Percy's ear. "All for you."

"That just makes it worse," Percy smiled self-depreciatingly.

" **"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."** "

"Nice," Apollo laughed.

" **Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain** "

"He has one?" Silena muttered viciously.

" **was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.** "

"That worked?" Demeter cried in surprise.

"Well he is an idiot," Hades sniggered.

" **"** **Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

 **For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes - the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride - as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.** "

Percy closed his eyes. He was so glad that was now again a rare occurrence. He had hated always leaving for a quest every year.

" **But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car.** "

"Probably enjoyed it," Poseidon muttered angrily.

" **He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking, and (more importantly) his '78 Camaro, for the whole weekend.** "

Artemis' hands curled into fists. Nothing about the woman herself or the child. She hated men.

" **"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."** "

Dionysus snorted disbelievingly. "Just jinxing it," He muttered.

Percy smirked at the thought of what happened to the car.

" **Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve.** "

"You remember when Thalia drove?" Percy asked Future-Annabeth, grinning.

"...No? When did Thalia drive? Or get her license?"

"Oh she doesn't have her license. I forgot you had been kidnapped then." Percy mumbled the last part so nobody else heard.

" **But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.** "

"Much bigger than a seagull, much bigger than a poop, much bigger than the paint job," Percy snickered. The demigods and gods who had heard frowned in confusion whilst Future-Annabeth laugh lightly, thinking back to the remains of the Camaro the campers had found and the rumours of what happened along with Percy's spoils of war and Grover's account.

" **Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain.** "

Past-Annabeth leaned forward in interest. She loved puzzles.

" **As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus,** **a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe.** "

The gods and Chiron's eyes lit up and they laughed softly at what was about to happen.

Poseidon grinned wickedly. Finally the mortal was getting what he deserved. It was a small gesture, but it was a start.

" **The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.** "

The demigods laughed, all of them happy that karma was finally getting to the pig in the form of Percy Jackson.

" **Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges,** "

Both Annabeths gave Percy a look. He raised his hands in surrender.

" **but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders** "

Both Annabeths and Athena shivered.

" **in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

 **I loved the place.** "

"Of course you did," Future-Annabeth muttered fondly.

" **We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.** "

Surprised eyes turned to Poseidon, who was smiling dopily.

"So that's why we couldn't sense it," Hades murmured. "You were doing it on the beach."

Percy made a face.

" **As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.** "

Poseidon's smile grew. He remembered what Sally looked like all those years ago, he could picture her in his head perfectly.

" **We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine.** "

"You actually cleaned?" Future-Annabeth asked in surprise. Percy scowled at her.

"What?" Silena asked. A few people jumped, she had been so quiet they forgot she was there.

"We share a dorm at college and it's a wreck, thanks to this Seaweed Brain," Future-Annabeth prodded Percy in the gut.

" **We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.** "

"Uh, what?" Apollo questioned, confused.

Zeus hummed in agreement. Blue was his color. Why was a son of Poseidon eating only blue?

" **I guess I should explain the blue food.** "

"Please," Luke muttered.

" **See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing.** "

"Yes there is!" Athena shouted suddenly. "Not only is there blue food dye, but there's blueberries, blue corn, blue potatoes, and those are just the natural ones!" She was spitting a few curses that had Luke covering Past-Annabeth's ears and Chiron flushing pink.

" **They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop.** "

"I'm liking this woman more and more," Hermes grinned.

Luke felt a scowl growing. Maybe you should take care of your currents flings before knocking up some other woman, he thought silently.

Past-Annabeth from at Luke, who was glaring at the floor hard. She didn't know what had happened to him, but since his quest ended, he had been distant and bitter.

" **This - along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano** "

Percy looked green at the thought.

" **was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.** "

"I guess that means you have an obiedient streak," Apollo mused.

Demeter frowned at him. He shouldn't encourage bad behaviour.

" **When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.** "

The Stolls, Beckendorf, and Percy looked at Hestia hopefully, the girls muttered something about boys and their stomachs, Hestia gave a tinkling laugh before motioning for them to wait. The boys slumped down in their seats, pouting.

" **Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.** "

Artemis frowned. Sally should follow her dream. Whilst Artemis respected the woman for taking care of Percy, Sally shouldn't make herself suffer for it. Artemis couldn't believe someone could be so selfless. It wasn't the same as dying for someone. When you die, it's over. When you suffer, you never know when it will be over.

" **Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk - my father.** "

Poseidon shot Percy a small smile, one he returned.

" **Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.** "

The demigods nodded in agreement they had all felt the same at one point.

Luke's lip curled. He just wished the gods would stick around, or visit, that was all. Why was it so much to ask?

" **"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too.** "

The demigods turned to look at Poseidon, who was blushing lightly.

Future-Annabeth looked at Percy and laughed softly. That was also a pretty accurate description of him.

" **You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."** "

The throne room turned to look at Percy, who shifted uneasily under all the attention.

"You do look like your father," Silena murmured.

" **Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."** "

"I am," Poseidon muttered softly, but everyone heard him.

Most of the demigods felt a sting of jealousy that Percy was so loved by his father. Luke was feeling more and more like Poseidon should win the 'God of the year' award. Maybe if Poseidon was chill about the whole 'taking over the world' thing, they would leave him be. Bit doubtful, to be honest.

Percy flushed pink. Future-Annabeth gave the gods a look like 'that's how you do it'.

Chiron smiled happily at the attention his student was getting. He knew Percy was going to be the best of them.

Some of the gods felt a sting of annoyance at Poseidon. He always had to up the standards. The other gods felt regret that they couldn't be that easy with their children.

" **I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me?** "

"You have no idea how amazing you are," Annabeth huffed while she kissed Percy right below the ear.

" **A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.** "

"I don't care about any of that," Poseidon declared, frowning. He didn't know his son thought so little of himself. "It's my fault, to be honest. My genes making you a demigod."

Chiron shook his head at the sea god. "You are as bad as Percy."

" **"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean... when he left?"**

 **She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."** "

Poseidon's face morphed into a sad smile before he turned to glare at Zeus for those ancient laws. Zeus shifted but stood his ground, glaring back.

" **"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.** "

"You visited him," Hermes realised.

Poseidon shrunk down in his seat while some gods yelled and Zeus looked ready to explode. He kept reading quickly.

" **I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...**

 **I felt angry at my father.** "

Poseidon sighed warily, as if he expected this.

Percy shook his head. "I don't feel that way anymore."

" **Maybe it was stupid,** "

Luke hissed. "It's not."

" **but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.** "

Poseidon gritted his teeth at the name of the mortals before sagging into his throne.

"I don't feel that way anymore," Percy repeated firmly. "And it's not your fault. I was being a whiny twelve-year-old."

Luke's face etched into a frown. 'Whiny'. That's not what was happening here. The gods weren't like some absent parent, they were there, they just chose to ignore them. All those unclaimed kids in the Hermes cabin. All those youngsters across camp who were waiting for a chance to prove themselves. This was the cycle of life. Like the titans, the gods will crumble and the demigods will take over. It wasn't them being 'whiny'.

" **"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"** "

"Percy!" Most of the room protested.

Said boy yelped at all the glared thrown his way.

Artemis' was one of the strongest. This woman had sacrificed so much, and Percy was just going to be a brat about?! Who cares if it hurt him, if she was willing to put up with a _pig_ to help him then he should be able to put up with some shit to return the favor.

" **I regretted the words as soon as they were out.** "

"Good," Demeter mumbled. A child should never be like that to their parent.

" **My mom's eyes welled with tears.** "

"Now look what you've done," Past-Annabeth fumed. Percy grinned at his girlfriend's past-self, making her blush and hide her face in Luke's chest.

" **She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said-that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.** "

"Not a chance," Travis quipped but was quickly hushed by Connor, who pointed out Poseidon, who was wringing his hands.

The tension in the room was thickening and no one wanted to break it.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"** "

The demigods had to stifle their laughs. Literally everything wants to kill demigods.

" **She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me, all the weird and scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.** "

"All of which," Percy sighed, burying his nose back in Future-Annabeth's hair.

Poseidon's shoulders tensed.

" **During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground.** "

A small smirk wiggled up Poseidon's mouth.

" **When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.** "

Zeus and Hera were glaring at Poseidon so hard, people were worried the water god was going to catch on fire. Hades sighed in exasperation, he would've expected this of his brother.

Poseidon was smirking wickedly. "No one said I couldn't send any one to check up on Perce."

" **Before that, a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into.** "

The smirk slipped and Poseidon went back to being hunched shoulders and wringing his hands.

" **My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.** "

Incredulous eyes turned to Percy, who grinned sheepishly.

"Like Hercules," Hermes mused.

"Heracles," Hera corrected, glaring sharply at Hermes for mentioning her husband's bastard son.

"And I'm nothing like him," Percy snarled. He would never forget what that bitch did so Zoe and what he said to Piper and Jason whilst they were on their quest.

Artemis looked at him in surprise. She didn't realise anyone else knew the problems with Hercules, much less a demigod, much less a man, much less resent him for it.

" **In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

 **I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum,** "

"Please," Poseidon begged.

" **about my weird hallucination** "

"It's nice to dream," Katie snickered.

" **that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her.** "

Future-Annabeth kissed Percy for being stupid.

" **I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.** "

"Of course that's your motivation," Chiron murmured, amused.

" **"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could,"** "

Apollo shook his head. "That's how they die early, man."

" **my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake.** "

"It is," Hera sneered. Just let the child go, not that hard.

" **But there's only one other option, Percy, the place your father wanted to send you.** "

Demigods sat up at the thought of Camp Half-Blood.

" **And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."** "

"CAMP HALF-BLOOD!" The demigods cheered, Percy and Future-Annabeth joining in.

" **My head was spinning. Why would my dad, who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born,** "

Poseidon winced.

" **talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?** "

Percy turned his curious eyes to Future-Annabeth.

"Because you'd want to know more," She told him.

" **"I'm sorry, Percy,"** "

"Don't apologise," Artemis muttered.

" **she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."** "

"For good?" Aphrodite cocked her head to the side.

"It's because he's so powerful," Athena told her softly, regarding Poseidon (who had begun to nervously tap the book in his hands) warily.

" **"For good?** "

"You think like Percy, dear," Hephaestus laughed.

Both Aphrodite and Percy made a face, causing them to glare at the other.

" **But if it's only a summer camp..."**

 **She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.** "

"Don't do it then," Hestia warned.

" **That night I had a vivid dream.** "

Future-Annabeth groaned. "You're dreams are the worst!"

" **It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle,** "

Everyone looked at Poseidon and Zeus, who weren't looking anyone in the eye.

" **were trying to kill each other** "

"Not again," Demeter moaned.

Ares lit up at the thought of a war between the gods before Hephaestus shut him down with a look. Apollo, being the only one who noticed this exchange, frowned deeply in confusion, and starting contemplating why that would happen.

" **at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.** "

The past demigods and gods' eyes turned to Hades, except for Luke who looked down to his hands and shivered at the mention of his master.

Hades rolled his eyes. Honestly, why would he do anything and make them hate him more? He thought bitterly.

" **I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion.** "

"Hate it when that happens," Connor clucked his tongue.

" **I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes,** "

"I won," Zeus declared. Poseidon rolled his eyes at the childishness.

" **and I screamed, No!**

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.** "

Ares winced. So war was (maybe) not the best idea.

" **With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."** "

"I'd never hurt her," Poseidon interjected, interrupting himself.

Percy smiled and nodded. "She knows."

" **I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.** "

"Damn, Uncle P," Hermes sighed in mock-disapproval.

"I'll have to get you checked over," Apollo agreed.

" **Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.** "

Poseidon stiffened and started reading faster, the words blending together until Hestia came over to his throne and rubbed soothing patterns on his arms.

" **Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.** "

Everyone leaned forward.

" **My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

 **Grover** "

"Oh thank the gods," Poseidon collapsed back into his throne.

" **stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.** "

Connor frowned. "What? He get a make-over or something?"

"Or something," Percy agreed.

" **"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"** "

"He wasn't," Future-Annabeth sighed.

" **My mother looked at me in terror, not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me!** "

"What is?" Poseidon demanded but Percy just waved him off.

" **Didn't you tell her?"** "

"Nope, cos' he's an idiot," Past-Annabeth decided.

" **I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly.** "

"Yer a demigod, Percy," Hermes exclaimed in a mock-gruff voice, making the demigods laugh at him.

Poseidon glared sharply at his nephew for interrupting when Percy was in danger. Hermes shrank back.

" **I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on,** "

"Oh," Silena realised. Beckendorf nodding along with her.

"What?" Connor laughed. "Did you get flustered or something?"

"Or something," Past-Annabeth decided, knowing Grover was a satyr.

Percy glared at him. "Best friend, nothing more,"

" **and where his legs should be... where his legs should be...** "

"Oh," The Stolls realised, they flushed slightly.

"Yes, oh," Katie huffed.

" **My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro, but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me.** "

"It's not a disease!" Hermes and Dionysus protested in outrage.

"I didn't mean it like that," Percy huffed.

" **I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

 **Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.** "

"And here we were, thinking it was something weird," Travis commented, bumping shoulders with his younger brother.

"It is weird," Beckendorf sighed warily, like he was so done was the Stolls' bullshit (which he probably was).

"Not anymore," Silena disagreed. Her and Beckendorf's eyes linked for just a moment too long before they both quickly looked away, blushing.

"We'll have a break now?" Hestia asked, earning some agreement and grumbles. "Follow me to the kitchens," She lead the group of demigods, gods, and a centaur out of the throne room until only Poseidon, Apollo, Percy, Future-Annabeth, and Athena remained.

Poseidon gave Percy a look, to which he sighed and nodded warily. They were about to leave with Apollo and Future-Annabeth before noticing Athena lingering.

"What?" Poseidon questioned harshly.

"I wanted to talk with Annabeth," Athena defended. "Don't get any ideas."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Poseidon retorted.

"After, mother," Future-Annabeth called, breaking the staring contest. "I want to check Percy's alright first."

Athena grumbled something but nodded, and the group swiftly made their way to Apollo's quarters.


	5. We Have An Intervention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the books and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

Percy sighed and closed his eyes, his fingers lightly gripping the edge of the medical bed.

He was sitting on the side of a bed in Apollo's quarters, munching on a cookie he had produced out of thin air. Apollo was muttering to himself and making hand gestures, a paper off to the side was taking notes as he examined Percy. Poseidon was hovering slightly, his cookie was left untouched as he looked nervously between Apollo and Percy, tapping his foot impatiently. About half way through, Athena got bored and dragged her daughter outside to talk. Future-Annabeth was still talking to her mother outside the door, Percy wished he could be there for her, it sounded like they were having an argument.

A moment later, Future-Annabeth comes back in, her eyes stormy and blazing. Percy wished he could wrap his arms around her, but Apollo and Poseidon would both kill him if he moved. Instead he shot his girlfriend a reassuring smile. Athena did not return.

Finally, Apollo seemed to be finished. Wish a last swish of his hands, the paper floated up to him. Apollo paled drastically.

"How are you-" His voice broke. "How are you still alive?"

Percy gave a half-hearted shrug, not trusting himself to speak. He inwardly cursed all his thoughts that reassured him 'Apollo's only checking for lasting damage, not past'. He's such an imbecile! Percy should know better after hearing about Asclepius.

Poseidon didn't seem to like this question, he tried to snatch the paper out of Apollo's hand but Apollo wouldn't budge, staring in horror at the notes in front of him.

After a beat of silence, Apollo seemed to wake up from his trance. He put on a bright fake smile. "No lasting damages, just make sure you eat enough. Now if you'll excuse me," He shuffled them out of his temple, looking sick.

Poseidon gave Percy a look. "Son," He began.

"It's in the past," Percy pleaded, interrupting. "We-we don't need to talk about it," He cursed his voice for shaking.

Poseidon gave him a hard once-over.

"Lord Poseidon, if I may," Future-Annabeth interjected. "All of this will appear in the books, after we've finished reading them, we can talk to Percy about all the dangers he's faced."

Poseidon stared at her too for a moment before his shoulder slumped and his face seemed to age one-hundred years. He turned on his heel and left for food.

Percy shot Future-Annabeth a grateful look, but she returned it with a hard one that seemed to say 'don't thank me yet'.

Apollo came rushing out of his temple, looking dishevelled. He took one look at Percy and shot off in the other direction, not meeting Percy's eyes or listening to his soft 'thank you'.

Percy sighed heavily. He knew he wasn't getting out of this one. Percy felt a sting of pleasure that he had people who cared so very much about him, then his throat closed in guilt, he shouldn't worry people.

Future-Annabeth seemed to know what he was feeling. She slipped her hand into his and gave in a soft squeeze before tugging him along to the kitchen.

* * *

Percy plonked down next to to his girlfriend after collecting his snacks. Percy couldn't help but grin as the gods finally talked to their kids, like a real family. Future-Annabeth was looking at look with so much confliction shining across her face. Percy patted her back softly.

Past-Annabeth was with Luke, chatting quickly about what she thinks might happen, and all the theories she has. Luke was taking it in, smiling fondly but it didn't quite meet his eyes. His sky blue eyes were hardened, surveying Olympus with barely contained disgust, and Percy knew that if he hadn't of been looking for it, he wouldn't have found it. But there was another emotion in his eyes, one that scared Percy.

Hunger.

Future-Annabeth griped his hand tightly and Percy knew they had come to the same conclusion.

Luke was going to try to steal the lightning bolt.

Percy watched as Luke's eye flickered back to the door of the throne room, then to the gods who were lounging around. Luke stood slowly and ruffled Past-Annabeth's hair before whispering something in her ear, walking swiftly to not attract attention. Looks like he's following rule one, Percy thought dryly.

He stood up quickly, with none of the grace Luke had. He told Future-Annabeth to distract the others, Percy felt anger churning for Luke but there was also pity, he didn't want Luke to get smited, especially if before they read the bigger crimes he committed.

Poseidon frowned slightly at him but didn't comment as Percy quickly went past him to chase after Luke. As soon as he left the room, Percy broke out into a run.

Once he got to the open-arch to the throne room, Percy skidded to a stop. Luke was holding the lightning bolt and seemed about to slide it into his backpack. The backpack Ares gave Percy, he realised.

Luke paused, his head turning to look at him, the lighting darkened his face, making his scar stand out against pale sweaty skin. Percy shivered. He couldn't look into those cold blue eyes without imagining them gold.

"I thought you might come and stop me," Luke murmured quietly, but his voice carried across the throne room.

"You better put that back, Luke," Percy told him. He cursed himself for feeling like a scared twelve-year-old again. He stared down titans and giants _and_ primordials. He shouldn't be feeling so scared by a not-powerful demigod with daddy issues.

"No, I don't think I will," Luke decided, mesmerized by the bolt. Percy snorted despite himself. He couldn't help but think back to the Endgame meme. Luke's lip curled, he apparently didn't like that answer.

"They are going to be back soon, Luke," Percy sighed. "You don't want to get caught right?"

Luke smiled toothily. "Oh I won't."

"You're just a coward," Percy snapped. "A fucking coward who can't stand that daddy wasn't there for him, that Kronos wants to use him."

Luke's eyes darkened. "Watch your tone, before-"

"Before what?" Percy laughed coldly. "Before grandfather comes knocking? Before he plagues me with nightmares until I 'watch my tone'," Percy mocked.

"He is more powerful than you could ever imagine, weakling!" Luke roared, his facade crackling.

"He's dead!" Percy shouted. "Dead. Boom. If you really want to save him, why don't you just go jump into Tartaurus, prove your support!"

"The crooked one has been summoned by us, the demigods, by our stirring hatred for our parents, from a millennia of bitterness," Luke scorned.

"Don't try to make yourself the hero in this story, Luke," Percy sneered. "You're just in it for yourself. And soon, once you're too deep, you'll want to get out of it, and there'll be only one way. That's how it worked for me."

"Then your Luke is weak!" Luke snapped. "Too weak, too close-minded to see the true power."

"Is Annabeth weak?" Percy asked suddenly, radiating quiet fury. "Is Thalia?"

" _Don't speak her name_!"

"You're so afraid. So very afraid of losing your family, just like you did in my time."

"I will be smarter, I-I will be better, they'll see, they all will," Luke broke off into mutterings, his voice stuttering as he shook.

Percy's eyes softened. "You know, Annabeth told me that I was so much like Thalia that if we met, we'd either be best friends or worst enemies. And I'm glad to say it was the former. She's the sister I never had, Luke. They all are. We're family, for better or worse." He laughed without humour. "You know, even after you tricked her, lied to her, _tortured_ her, Annabeth wouldn't believe you couldn't be saved. That faith..." Percy hesitated and spoke softer. "That nearly cost us everything. But in the end, she was right. Make _them_ proud, Luke. Don't turn your back on us."

Luke was full out shaking now. His face was pale and gaunt, sweat dripping down his forehead as he wrung his hands. He was muttering to himself, asking- _begging_ for his master to help him, but Percy knew the titan lord wouldn't answer.

"I'm not saying all is forgiven," Percy told him quietly. "I don't think me or my Annabeth will ever be able to look you in the eye. But your Annabeth will. _Thalia_ will. She's coming back, Luke. It takes two years but she does. And when she found out what you had done, she broke down, cursing everyone and everything around her. She didn't move from her tree for weeks. Don't make that mistake."

Suddenly Luke stopped shaking completely, but he was still wringing his hands, he looked to Percy, ashen faced. "And-and if I do?"

"You won't be able to escape anyway. The Fates did some form of spell to stop time and stop anyone from leaving. That's why your master can't communicate with you," Luke looked up in shock, Percy felt another sting of pity that he cursed himself for. Luke just looked so _naive_. "There's always going to be a bigger shark, Luke, and it would do you good to remember that," Percy shivered. He remembered fighting the land he walked on. He remembered being frozen and helpless as he and his Annabeth nearly got devoured. He remembered the Arai, Achlys, the giants, the titans. But most of all, Percy remembered the hopeless feeling as he watched his friends die, one after the other. Percy knew that fate came knocking. Every. Damn. Time.

Percy put a hand on Luke's shoulder and he looked at Percy with broken eyes. "The cord, that-that was mine, wasn't it?"

"In my timeline," Percy agreed. Luke looked at him with confused _blue_ eyes, but there was no amount of hope in them. They had a lot of work to do, Percy thought. "You have a chance, Luke. Take it. You don't have to like the system, I sure as Hades don't, but you have to accept most gods _try_. Don't turn this into a genocide for no reason. You don't need Kronos, Luke, but he needs you." Percy prodded Luke's chest.

There was a beat.

Percy pleaded to everything that he could make this stubborn son-of-a-bitch see reason.

And everything delivered.

The tension in Luke's stature broke. He let out a strangled sob before putting the lightning bolt back on Zeus' throne and slinging the backpack back onto himself. Percy gave him a half-hearted smile and patted his _very old_ friend on the shoulder, guiding him to sit down on one of the sofas.

"Let it out," Percy whispered in his ear.

And Luke did.

* * *

The immortals and the demigods made their way back to the throne room.

Future-Annabeth had stalled for as long as she could, trying to seem casual. It worked for the most part, Athena and her past self were now regarding Future-Annabeth with suspicion. But it was worth it if Luke could now see reason.

Once they entered the throne room, Future-Annabeth noted Luke sleeping soundly, looking more peaceful than she had every saw him. Percy looked up and her and gave a thumbs-up. Future-Annabeth nearly cried out in relief, but managed to bite her tongue.

And yes, there on each of the thrones respectively was the master bolt and the helm of darkness.

She made her way to Percy and sat down next to him, sitting away from Luke.

Past-Annabeth looked suspiciously at Percy but also plonked down next to him, running her fingers through Luke's hair.

Once all the demigods and immortals were settled, the book was passed by Poseidon to Hades, who looked at his brother in shock.

"I still can't forgive you," Poseidon amended. "But I would rather hear your reason as quickly as possible, you deserve your chance, brother."

Percy couldn't help the grin that nearly split his features. He thought back to what Hermes said, just before the trip to the sea of monsters.

" **If there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.** "

And now, whilst Percy sat here, looking at his family as Hades readout of the chapter title-

" **4 - MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING** "

-he couldn't help but think, ain't that the truth.


	6. Percy's Mom is NOT Good At Bullfighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.
> 
> Honestly I wasn't thinking about what happened with Annabeth and Athena, but people requested it so...
> 
> I put it as a small thing that they had an argument in the chapter before, but I didn't really think about what happened so erm, here ya go
> 
> (i feel stupid)

Future-Annabeth slid the door to the temple shut behind her with a snap. She turned to see her mother studying her with those calculating grey eyes that were so much like her own.

"A son of Poseidon," Athena observed, her voice had a slight edge to it that made Annabeth's hands curl into fists and her eyes harden.

"A son of Poseidon," Annabeth agreed.

There was an awkward pause.

"Why would you ever want to date him?!" Athena snapped suddenly. She was looking at her daughter with so much anger, so much betrayal, so much _confusion_ that Annabeth had to grit her teeth. "He is a child of _Poseidon_ and he's a slacker, I won't have it! He'll just use you, then throw you away like a toy. I can't _believe_ you would hurt me like this! You are going to break up with him."

"Why should I?" Annabeth retorted. "I love him and he loves me. He's the most amazing, kind, gentle, _loving_ person I've ever and will ever meet! He is my family! You want someone to treat me good, there. You. Go."

Athena looked at her daughter like she had been slapped. "Your family," She repeated with quietly contained fury. "is me, your father, your stepmother, your godly half-brothers, your mortal half-brothers, maybe that son of Hermes and daughter of Zeus, but nothing more-"

"Bullshit!" Annabeth snarled. "Where were you when my 'family'," She sneered the word. "treated me like a freak? Where were you when Thalia died and Luke left? Up on gods-be-damned Olympus. But d'you know who was there. Percy. Fucking. Jackson. So watch your mouth when you talk about my other half like that."

With that, Annabeth spun on her heel and went straight back into the infirmary. The fierce anger on her face melted into a lovesick expression when she looked at Percy, something that made Athena's insides churn.

Athena's lip curled into an ice cold sneer. Perseus Jackson was a horrible influence on her child. Annabeth not only told her she was wrong, but she did it in such a humiliating way that made Athena think that maybe, _just maybe_ , she could be wrong. This must be some ploy of Poseidon's to get one over her. And using her brightest child too. Not even Daedalus had Annabeth's potential when he was her age.

Athena felt her hands curl into fists. Annabeth may not see it yet, but Athena was doing this for her own good.

Perseus Jackson was going to regret ever looking at _her_ child.

* * *

" **4 - MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING** " Hades readout.

Apollo huffed a laugh that didn't quite reach the rest of his face.

"I don't even know what to say anymore," Katie muttered.

" **We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.** "

Everyone tensed remembering what had happened. Luke had woken up once the reading started, looking distinctly uncomfortable and nervous.

" **Every time there was a flash of lightning,** "

Poseidon tensed, glaring fiercely at his brother. "I did nothing to your daughter!" He snapped. Zeus shifted nervously.

" **I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane,** "

"You had a demon maths teacher," Hermes said slowly. "and this is what makes you think you've gone insane?"

"That was over quickly like any another of my 'hallucinations', this one I couldn't just ignore," Percy replied.

" **or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.** "

Travis and Connor broke out into snickers. Beckendorf, Clarisse, and Future-Annabeth were fighting smiles. Chiron let out a small chuckle. Past-Annabeth, Katie, and Silena rolled their eyes. Luke's lips twitched upwards. Hermes and Apollo were shaking with suppressed laughter. Poseidon was too concerned to smile. The rest of the gods shook their heads.

" **But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo, lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.** "

Silena said. "Technically, it could be still some form of pants made from real animal wool."

"He's a satyr," Dionysus pointed out.

"But this is in the scenario that Grover wasn't a satyr, but wearing shag-carpet-animal-wool pants," Travis countered.

"But he is, so this is a pointless arguement," Athena retorted.

Travis pouted. "Killjoy."

" **All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom…know each other?"** "

"It sounds bad when you put it like that," Demeter sighed.

"You demigods," Dionysus scorned. "Never appreciating a satyr's hard work. Almost as bad as the romans..." His voice got quieter as he continued but he didn't finish quiet enough, judging by Athena's suddenly still stature, the rest of the gods' flickering forms, and making Past-Annabeth look in interest with the rest of the past demigods.

" **Grover's eyes flitted to the rear-view mirror, though there were no cars behind us.** "

"That's not what he's worried about," Poseidon muttered, looking nervous.

" **"Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."** "

"Stalker," Connor mumbled.

" **"Watching me?"**

 **"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."** "

"Smooth," Hermes snickered. He loved satyrs.

"I suppose that's one of the difficulties of being a protector," Aphrodite thought aloud. "It could seem like you were using the demigod as your job, or you could get too attached to the demigod you were supposed to protect."

Dionysus, Demeter, And Hermes hummed in agreement.

"Finally," Dionysus grouched.

" **"Um…what are you, exactly?"** "

"A fashionista," Travis joked.

" **"That doesn't matter right now."**

 **"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"** "

Dionysus and Hermes' eyes got dangerously dark, Percy winced.

" **Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"** "

"'Blaa-ha-ha'," Travis mimicked. He was hit by his brother, who gestured to their father with a slight ounce of fear on his face. Travis sunk down in his seat.

" **I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a goat from the waist down."** "

"He literally just said..." Hephaestus shook his head in annoyance.

" **"You just said it didn't matter."**

 **"Blaa-ha-ha!** "

The Stolls couldn't stop the snigger from escaping them.

" **There are satyrs who would trample you under-hoof for such an insult!"** "

"Coach Hedge," Future-Annabeth laughed.

"Don't. You. Dare." Percy hissed, looking pale.

Clarisse perked up in interest. "Coach?"

Percy gave her a sharp nod, pouting at his girlfriend.

" **"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like…Mr. Brunner's myths?"** "

"Myths," Hera sniffed.

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"** "

"Not the time," Poseidon groaned.

"Why are you so damn stubborn?" Past-Annabeth questioned rhetorically.

"He gets it from his father," Athena sneered bitterly, obviously still annoyed at Future-Annabeth.

" **"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious.** "

"It is to him," Hestia told Percy.

" **"We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."** "

"So dramatic," Zeus grumbled.

"Hypocrite," Percy snickered.

" **"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

 **The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.** "

Poseidon tensed.

" **"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

 **"Safety from what? Who's after me?"** "

Both Percy and Future-Annabeth outright laughed deliriously at this.

" **"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."** "

"Grover!" Most demigods shouted.

Poseidon glared at Hades suspiciously.

" **"Grover!"**

 **"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"** "

"Yes, faster," Poseidon muttered.

" **I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination.** "

Future-Annabeth snickered.

" **I could never dream up something this weird.** "

"You sure?" Future-Annabeth chuckled. Percy pouted at her until she gave him a peck on the lips.

" **My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and 'PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES' signs on white picket fences.** "

"CAMP!" The Stolls yelled excitedly.

"Shut it!" Poseidon snapped.

" **"Where are we going?" I asked.**

 **"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared.** "

Artemis sighed sadly. That woman was so strong.

" **"The place your father wanted to send you."**

 **"The place you didn't want me to go."** "

Demeter said, "Don't make it harder!"

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."** "

"Percy," Chiron warned.

" **"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to…when someone's about to die."** "

"Reassuring," Apollo snorted cynically. Artemis frowned at him, he had been weird since he checked Percy over for injuries.

" **"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in me." "I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."** "

"Stop it!" Demeter snapped.

"Men," Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Now really isn't the time," Hestia shook her head.

" **"Boys!" my mom said.**

 **She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.** "

Poseidon wrung his hands, his eyes glued to the book in his brother's hands.

" **"What was that?" I asked.**

 **"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."** "

"Please," Poseidon begged.

" **I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

 **Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.** "

Hestia frowned at Hades disappointedly, Hades' head bowed in guilt.

" **Then I thought about Mr. Brunner…and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck.** "

Poseidon wound his shoulders back tightly.

" **There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling 'boom!', and our car exploded.** "

Poseidon cried out in pain. Hestia moved to go help him relax. After a moment, Hades continued.

" **I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.** "

Most of the demigods frowned in confusion. Poseidon curled his hands into fists, he hoped Zeus did not do that.

" **I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said,** **"Ow."** "

Future-Annabeth snorted despite her worry.

" **"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay.…"**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead.** "

"Clearly," Clarisse sniggered.

" **The car hadn't really exploded.** "

"Oh thank the gods," Poseidon breathed.

"Why aren't you more freaked out about this?" Beckendorf asked Future-Annabeth.

Future-Annabeth shrugged. "I already know most of it, 'sides we've been through worse now."

Both Poseidon and Athena frowned at that.

" **We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

 **Lightning.** "

"ZEUS!" Poseidon bellowed.

" **That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

 **He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, 'No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!'** "

That did a poor job of deflating the tension.

" **Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.** "

Past-Annabeth and Luke snickered despite themselves. Classic Grover.

" **"Percy," my mother said, "we have to…" Her voice faltered.**

 **I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.** "

Poseidon's head shot up in horror. Percy winced and shuffled down in his seat.

" **I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.** "

Poseidon was shaking with barely supressed anger. Zeus looked at his brother nervously.

" **"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"** "

"And there's Thalia," Percy joked. Future-Annabeth shot him a reproachful look. Just because she knew what was going to happen didn't mean she had to like it. She also didn't get much from the vague recollection that Grover had and the bits and pieces from the nymphs.

" **"What?"**

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree–sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too."** "

"She can't," Demeter realised. The demigods sent Percy pitying looks that he ignored like he ignored his father's worried glances.

Aphrodite let out a broken sob, her heart going out to the radiation of pain coming from Poseidon.

" **Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

 **"No!" I shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover."** "

"You are a good person," Hestia observed.

" **"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

 **The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head…was his head. And the points that looked like horns…** "

"The minotaur," Apollo realised. If this was what happened to Percy when he was twelve, Apollo could see why he had all his injuries on his examination,

" **"He doesn't want us," my mother told me. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But…"**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."** "

"Fatal flaw," Future-Annabeth warned softly. Percy made a face and kissed her forehead.

Athena frowned. A demigod with a fatal flaw of loyalty. With such a powerful demigod, irrationality was dangerous, love was dangerous.

" **I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.** "

"I don't know how everyone always underestimates you," Future-Annabeth thought aloud, ignoring her mother's gaze. "I mean, I did it too. You're so much smarter than you giver yourself credit for, Seaweed Brain."

Percy flushed red and looked bashful.

" **I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.** "

"I can't tell if you're calling him heavy or light," Luke observed.

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Poseidon replied, his eyes not leaving the book. "The sea is forever changing. Now if we could move on to where my son and love aren't in mortal danger, that would be great."

" **Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.** "

Demeter frowned.

" **Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear** **— I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms — which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.** "

 **His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns, enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.** "

The rest of the demigods - who hadn't realised what the monster was - gasped in shock and shivered at the mental image. Chiron looked sorrowful.

"How did you survive?" Past-Annabeth asked timidly, her poker face hiding her inner turmoil.

" **I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us.** "

"'One of the first'," Future-Annabeth repeated thoughtfully. Another example of 'People being prophetic before things happen™'.

" **But he couldn't be real.**

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

**"Pasiphae's son,"** "

"She knew not to say the name," Athena noted. Maybe the mother was smart, that didn't make the son a match for her daughter.

" **my mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."** "

"She's...smart," Hades joked in mock-surprise. "Didn't know you had it in you."

Poseidon glared at him, making it perfectly clear that he was not over what Hades did.

" **The pine tree was still way too far, a hundred yards uphill at least.** "

Poseidon turned his attention back to the book quickly.

" **I glanced behind me again.**

 **The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows, or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.** "

"His sight is terrible," Artemis murmured.

Athena added "And hearing."

" **"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible,"** "

Artemis grinned slightly. It was always nice to see a smart, capable woman. Though it pained her how unappreciated she was.

Athena's smiled despite herself. It was a pity she had not met this woman before Poseidon. Now that Sally and Poseidon had sex, Athena could not bear the thought of blessing the mortal with Poseidon's gloating face over her shoulder. This mortal was nothing like Medusa.

" **she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

 **As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.** "

The throne room cheered. It was a nice small victory against the pig of a mortal.

The Stolls were catcalling and Luke (surprisingly) joined in. Although, he stopped when his father added to the whooping

" **Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.** "

Travis and Connor looked at Percy, their mouths hanging open slightly.

" **Oops.** "

"Travis..." Connor breathed.

"I know Con," Travis' face lit up brightly. "I think we just found a new-

"PRANKING PARTNER!" Connor cheered.

Percy grinned at them. "Now all we need is Leo," He shrugged off their questioning glances.

" **"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way—directly sideways.** "

Athena sat up straighter. Of course, she could think of a better one, but this was brilliant for a mortal.

" **He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."** "

"A mother's love is never selfish unless she is the pain-giver," Aphrodite whispered.

"It is not selfish to keep a child at the hearth, where they are strongest," Hestia agreed.

"A mother will and should do everything for a child, even if it results to self-harm," Demeter sighed.

"A mother should do what is best for her family, even if it means sending one away," Hera sniffed. The other women, Hephaestus, Percy, and Poseidon glared at her strongly.

"And what would you know about love?" Hephaestus snapped. "You abused all of us in one way or another."

The rest of the gods and demigods looked between them like a tennis match, until Chiron cleared his throat and they kept reading.

" **"Keeping me near you? But—"**

 **Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.** "

Poseidon whimpered, turning his attention from Hera to the book in the god of the underworld's hands.

" **He'd smelled us.** "

"Oh gods, oh gods," Poseidon chanted. Future-Annabeth turned pale and gripped Percy tightly.

" **The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.** "

Poseidon couldn't help but curse the satyr. He knew Grover was a friend of his son's, but Percy should've never been protecting his protector. They should've sent a more experienced satyr to a demigod who Chiron had made a house call for, not one with a history of failing. Poseidon currently wanted nothing more than to squeeze the life out of his son, but he tried to restrain himself.

" **The bull-man closed in.** "

Well, the sea doesn't like to be restrained.

" **Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.** "

Poseidon seemed to make his decision, shrinking himself down to human form and racing across the throne room. He ignored Luke and Past-Annabeth's stares, Zeus' murderous glare, the demigods' dumbfound glances, and Hermes' longing looks. He concentrated in sliding between Past-Annabeth and Percy to hold him tightly. Percy flushed lightly but didn't protest, letting his father and his girlfriend take reassurance in the fact that he was right between them and wasn't going to leave.

" **My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

 **I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.** "

Silena let out a small mewl. Beckendorf squeezed her waist softly, adjusting her to lean on him.

" **He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.** "

Poseidon and Future-Annabeth gripped Percy tighter, the small group taking in the warmth of the others'. The other demigods huddled closer together. The gods either looked grave or shocked that the demigod survived.

" **The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

 **The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother,** "

Poseidon's eyes widened in horror.

" **who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

 **We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain.** "

Some of the demigods smiled uneasily at the thought of camp. They were _so_ close.

" **But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.** "

The smiles dropped swiftly. Poseidon was clutching Percy like a lifeline. Future-Annabeth was struggling to shrug this off as other adventure. She had never heard it so graphic before. Athena looked at the sea spawn with light interest, confused on how he managed to escape.

" **The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there,** "

Artemis let out a small growl of annoyance. Apollo ran his fingers over hers reassuringly.

" **frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummelling the air.** "

Poseidon moaned, praying to everything and anything that Sally would miraculously get out of this.

" **"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply…gone.** "

Poseidon cried out a loud sob, his throat voice refusing to get past the big metaphorical lump.

The rest of the gods had their heads bowed in respect. They hadn't known the mortal for long but she seemed well above the others of her status.

Percy looked to his hands, downcast. Hearing it for a second time did not make it any easier.

Hades paused, frowning softly at the book. Why would he kidnap the boy's mother? For leverage over him? Over Poseidon? What could he possibly want that he had to kidnap a mortal with the minotaur to do so?

Athena was thinking along the same lines of Hades. It made sense to have something over either of the men of the sea, but Hades was much more timid than most would expect. Kidnapping was more her or Hermes' style. Hades preferred to sit on his problems or ignore them. Only if something drastic happened, most likely to his pride, would he ever make a move like kidnapping for leverage. He only went after the Grace girl because Zeus killed one of his flings back in the 1900s. Poseidon had to have done something or have been accused of something terrible for Hades to go beserk. The question is: What?

" **"No!"**

 **Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs, the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.** "

"Adrenaline," Ares muttered appreciatively.

" **The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.** "

Past-Annabeth and Luke went as white as sheets. Zeus smirked lightly to himself, the fates retribution for failing his daughter.

" **I couldn't allow that.** "

Zeus deflated. Most of the goddesses looked at Percy approvingly.

" **I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

 **"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"** "

Clarisse snickered, despite the tension. "That's a good one," She decided, fist bumping Percy.

" **"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.** "

"I'm all for a good pun," Hermes laughed. He frowned slightly at Apollo, who just smiled weakly. The god had been acting strange since the medical exam.

"" **I had an idea, a stupid idea,** "

"It's going to work then," Future-Annabeth sighed, rubbing her nose warily.

Beckendorf frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Why?" Katie exclaimed.

"Percy's good ideas go to shit, his bad ideas go to shit, only his stupid ones work," Future-Annabeth grumbled.

"Aren't bad and stupid the same?" Connor asked, slightly confused.

"Nah. The bad ones are weak, the stupid ones are the ones I get when I work up my nerve," Percy grinned.

" **but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket** "

Athena's mouth formed a small 'o', knowing what the demigod was thinking. A stupid idea, she agreed.

" **in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.** "

"'Thinking'?" Poseidon repeated worriedly.

" **But it didn't happen like that.**

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.** "

Future-Annabeth jerked involuntarily. Percy rubbed her shoulder, muttering reassurances. Everyone else frowned at her.

" **My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.** "

The demigods looked at Percy in awe. Some of the gods relaxed. The more uptight ones worried how strong the child was, even without training.

" **How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

 **The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain** "

Athena's eyes lit up. Poseidon grinned slightly, despite his inner pain of loosing Sally.

" **was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.** "

Percy buried his face in Future-Annabeth's hair, wincing at the memory.

" **"Food!" Grover moaned.**

 **The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light,** "

Poseidon growled deeply.

" **and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might.** "

Ares frowned. Would that work? The kid had the rain fuelling him But the shear force...

" **The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap!** "

The demigods' mouths fell open. Chiron beamed proudly. The gods regarded Percy with different expressions, ranging from appraising to wary.

"Wow," Travis whispered.

"Percy you just broke a strong bone with shear force, the pound-force it would take-" Apollo got cut off.

"Cow horns are typically a bit longer than a thigh bone, and it takes 900 lbf to break your femur." Clarisse grunted. Other demigods looked at her in shock.

" **The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air.** "

Past-Annabeth winced softly.

" **I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

 **The monster charged.** "

Poseidon made an unsuccessfully-stifled wail.

" **Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barrelled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.** "

"You stabbed a minotaur with his own horn?" Ares asked excitedly. Percy muffled his chuckles in his girlfriend's hair and nodded.

" **The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

 **The monster was gone.** "

The throne room cheered, united against the horror that was the minotaur.

" **The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry,** "

Most people in the throne threw pitying glances to the trio huddled together, Poseidon on the left, Percy in the middle, Future-Annabeth on the right.

" **but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover, I wasn't going to let him go.** "

"You're a good friend," Hestia smiled.

"I love brotherly love," Aphrodite sighed dreamily.

" **The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man** "

The demigods cheered for Chiron, who blushed lightly.

" **and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.** "

Both Annabeths made faces of undisguised horror. Past-Annabeth glared daggers at Percy but Future-Annabeth had succumbed to Percy's weird but loving imagination, merely kissing his cheek chastely.

" **They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."** "

"What do you mean by that, eh Annie?" Travis sniggered. A knife was thrown at him, aiming straight for the throat. Whilst he did his best to dodge, Luke had to hold Past-Annabeth back.

Future-Annabeth huffed a laugh and leaned into her boyfriend. "He is the one," She agreed. Percy colored but grinned stupidly at his girlfriend, kissing her gently on the lips.

" **"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."** "

"Meet him inside, meet him inside," The Stolls chanted.

"Last time I let you watch Hamilton either," Chiron sighed.

Dionysus perked up. "We could ban movie-nights all together."

"Hey!"

"No fair!"

"Please no!"

"No way!"

"Back to the book," Hades cut in, death-glaring at anyone who tried to saw anymore. "who will read the next chapter?"

Demeter raised her hands. "I will," She decided. "brother." Hades looked at her shocked but passed the book. She frowned at the book before Demeter readout:

" **5 - I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE** "


	7. Why Are Horses So Good at Pinochle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

" **5 - I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE** "

The gods except Dionysus exchange confused glances. Dionysus perked up at the game. Chiron raised an eyebrow at Percy, who grinned sheepishly. The demigods seemed proud of themselves to know something the gods' didn't.

" **I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.** "

"I love your imagination," Hermes chortled.

Percy grimaced, remembering some of his less-than-pleasant dreams. "You won't soon."

" **I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again.** "

"It probably had something more to do with your health Percy," Beckendorf snickered. "not sheer will."

" **I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair** "

Athena raised an eyebrow at her future daughter, but Future-Annabeth was still refusing to look at her.

"The Nightingale effect!" Aphrodite squealed.

Hephaestus frowned. "What's that, dearest?"

"It's when the nurse falls in love with her patient," Aphrodite sighed dreamily. Athena's lip curled.

" **hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

 **When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"** "

"More about the summer solstice," Hades muttered.

Athena smiled slightly. Her daughter only nursed him back to health for information. That she could get behind. Maybe dating Percy was something more tactical rather than personal.

" **I managed to croak, "What?"**

 **She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen?** "

"Stolen?" The gods murmured between themselves. The demigods frowned in confusion.

Athena scrunched her eyebrows up. Something that was stolen that would turn Hades against Poseidon so much that he would want to kill his son... Athena could only think of one item that would gauge such a reaction. She didn't know if something had also happened to Zeus or if he was just pissed Poseidon had a son. But the book title...' **The Lightning Thief** '...

" **We've only got a few weeks!"**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.** "

"Probably because you didn't have the information," Poseidon mumbled, shooting Athena a look.

" **A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes- at least a dozen of them-on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.** "

Hera smiled at the mention of Argus.

" **When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries.** "

The demigods cheered for Camp Half-Blood.

" **There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest.** "

"There's another one," Percy muttered to Future-Annabeth, who nodded, deep in thought.

" **My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.** "

Apollo thought back to the list. Soon, that would be the least of the demigod's problems.

" **On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

 **My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.** "

Zeus glared at the sea-brat. "Don't waste nectar!"

" **"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

 **Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, not the goat boy.** "

"You make it sound like a disease," Travis laughed. Connor jabbed him in the ribs, pointing to Dionysus, Demeter, and Hermes, who were all glaring fiercely at him.

" **So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...** "

"Optimism like that will get you killed," Clarisse grumbled.

" **"You saved my life," Grover said. "I...well, the least I could do...I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.** "

Silena winced in sympathy.

" **"The Minotaur," I said.** "

"Names have power!" Hera snapped at the useless demigod.

" **"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really..."**

**He looked down.** "

"Poor child," Aphrodite murmured. Demeter and Hestia mumbled their agreements.

" **I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.** "

"I'll tell Thalia you said that," Future-Annabeth cackled.

Percy gave her a look of horror. "Please no," He begged.

" **My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.** "

"Yet life goes on," Artemis sighed.

" **"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world."** "

Both Annabeths and Percy voice their disagreements. Luke hesitated for a moment too long before he expressed his. Zeus and Poseidon couldn't help but agree with the satyr's assessment.

" **He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky.** "

"Stalker," Travis muttered. Connor shook his head at his brother's lack of self-preservation.

Katie clipped him over the head.

" **As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with...Smelly Gabe?** "

"Oh Hades no," Poseidon snarled.

Hades, instead of chiding his brother for using his name as a swear word, cracked his knuckles in agreement. Most of the rest of gods and demigods, even Chiron, gave noises of agreements.

Percy stared at Future-Annabeth, shooketh. Future-Annabeth laughed quietly at his expression, kissing him softly.

"You have no idea how special you are," She murmured fondly against his lips.

" **No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army.** "

Future-Annabeth snorted her laughter. "That wouldn't have worked, Seaweed Brain. You were such a midget back then."

" **I'd do something.**

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid - poor goat, satyr, whatever - looked as if he expected to be hit.**

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."** "

Poseidon couldn't help but disagree. Grover was the protector, he was supposed to protect his son, not get protected by his son.

" **"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you."**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

**"But why..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.** "

Poseidon frowned worriedly at his son next to him.

" **"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

 **I recoiled at the taste,** "

"WHAT?!" Zeus boomed. "YOU INSOLENT-"

" **because I was expecting apple juice.** "

Zeus deflated.

" **It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies-my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting.** "

The demigods gave Percy more pitying looks.

"Don't," He told them. "Others have had it harder."

The others looked at each other in confusion. Who would've...?

" **Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

 **Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass.** "

Poseidon winced. "Don't drink too much."

" **I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?"** "

Zeus' lip curled. Unappreciative satyrs.

" **He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

 **"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."** "

Beckendorf snickered. "That wouldn't have been the best idea."

" **His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just...wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home-made."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."** "

"Please do," Past-Annabeth sat up.

" **"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly,** "

Zeus' hands curled into fists. He was going to have a _long_ chat with Dionysus about his satyrs' behavior.

" **as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.** "

"You are brave," Hestia complimented.

" **As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

 **We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.** "

The demigods cheered for their home.

"That's a good description of camp," Silena decided.

" **Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl** "

"How long am I going to be 'the blond-haired girl'?" Past-Annabeth complained.

"How long are _we_ going to be 'the blond-haired girl'" Future-Annabeth corrected.

" **who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored** "

"Wait, it was popcorn-flavored to you?" Future-Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded, looking confused. "Yeah...why?"

"It's popcorn-flavored to me too," She laughed.

" **pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

 **The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.** "

"You only took that form out of spite," Future-Annabeth sighed. Dionysus stared at her, long and hard, for a second before nodding in agreement.

" **He wore a tiger pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step-father.** "

"Of course," Dionysus sniffed. "I can out-gamble Chiron when I am at full strength."

" **"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper,** "

"Rude," Past-Annabeth huffed.

" **but she's been here longer than just about anybody.** "

"Except for me," Luke smiled but it looked pained.

" **And you already know Chiron... ."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.** "

"Thank you, child, for that description," Chiron chuckled. Percy colored and grinned sheepishly.

" **"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.** "

"Didn't he just say his name was Chiron?" Athena sniffed. She was ignored.

" **The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.** "

Travis and Connor sat up a little straighter.

" **"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."** "

Demeter's mouth formed an 'o'. "The chapter title."

" **He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."** "

Hestia sighed heavily at her nephew.

" **"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe,** "

Everyone growled.

" **it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

 **"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.** "

"'The blonde girl'." Past-Annabeth sniffed, sounding a whole lot like her mother.

" **She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."** "

Hermes sighed irritably. He hated how the undetermined stayed at his cabin, though he would be a hypocrite if he told the gods to claim their kids, that was the truth.

" **Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

 **She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.** "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Past-Annabeth snapped.

" **They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty but intimidating too,** "

Past-Annabeth blushed brightly, whether from the compliment or from embarrassment, no one knew.

" **as if she were analysing the best way to take me down in a fight.** "

"I was," Future-Annabeth sniggered.

" **She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, 'You killed a minotaur!' or 'Wow, you're so awesome!' or something like that.** "

Future-Annabeth gave Percy a look.

" **Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."** "

"Ah the famous line that had all the Aphrodite campers swooning," Percy chuckled. Future-Annabeth made a face at him.

" **Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

 **"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"** "

" _Chiron_ ," Athena stressed.

" **"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

 **"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D...does that stand for something?"** "

"Names have power!" Hera snapped.

"Everyone's a critic," Percy muttered.

" **Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive.** "

"Blunt," Hermes laughed.

" **It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to...ah, take a leave of absence."** "

"No offence to Hazel, but I fuckin' hate the mist," Percy sighed. Future-Annabeth hummed in agreement. Hades' form flickered. He frowned in disbelief at the mention of his diseased Roman daughter.

" **I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation,** "

"Mist," Artemis reminded him.

" **he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."** "

"You never change, do you Chiron?" Apollo sniggered, but he still looked uneasy.

" **"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

 **"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.** "

The demigods snickered.

" **"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.** "

Dionysus sighed warily, picking up his wine magazine again.

" **"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."** "

"Unhelpful," Zeus muttered reproachfully.

" **The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.**

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.**

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?"** "

"For future reference, Chiron," Percy rubbed his face. "Just tell me. None of this vague mumbo-jumbo."

" **"She said..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

 **"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed.** "

"Dionysus!" Hestia ground out. "A little more sympathy!"

" **Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."** "

"Wait you didn't watch the orientation film?" Future-Annabeth asked. At Percy's nod she sighed. "So that's why you were so clueless."

" **"Orientation film?" I asked.**

 **"No," Chiron decided.** "

"Also, please let me watch the orientation film sir," Percy sighed.

" **"Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box-"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods - the forces you call the Greek gods - are very much alive.** **"** "

"Straight to the point," Ares complimented, sharpening his spear.

" **I stared at the others around the table.**

 **I waited for somebody to yell, 'Not!' But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.** "

Dionysus sat up. Maybe he could win against Chiron for once.

" **"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminium can and chewed it mournfully.** "

Past-Annabeth winced sympathetically for her friend.

" **"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God-capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."** "

"SMALLER?!" Zeus and Hera roared.

"I said stop," Percy snickered. Future-Annabeth clipped him over the head.

" **"Smaller?"**

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."** "

"Don't throw around those names!" Demeter hissed.

" **And there it was again-distant thunder on a cloud-less day. "Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

 **"But they're stories," I said. "They're myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."** "

Some of the gods snarled and threw Percy glares.

" **"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson" - I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody - "what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals, they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

 **I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.** "

"You can be observant," Artemis realised.

Future-Annabeth snickered. "Except when it comes to relationships. It took _4 long hard years_ before anything happened."

" **"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

 **I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal,** "

"WHAT?" Future-Annabeth shouted. "You-you thought...but...how-"

"That was before everything," Percy assured her.

There was a slight pause.

"You don't want to be a god?" Hephaestus asked slowly.

"I mean, not really," Percy shrugged. "Especially not without my loved ones. I don't think we really get a choice though, after we die."

"Wait, I-I'm going to be a goddess?!" Past-Annabeth squeaked.

Percy laughed slightly and nodded. "Yeah. Me, Percy, Nico, Will, Piper, Jason, Leo, Calypso, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna are all becoming gods when we die. Thalia is already-"

Future-Annabeth clamped a hand over Percy's mouth a bit too late.

"Already what?" Zeus asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, just forget what Percy said so we can continue reading," Future-Annabeth sighed.

" **but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

 **"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.** "

Percy looked down at the thought of Pan.

" **"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some day people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"** "

"Chiron!" Demeter admonished.

" **My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

 **"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."** "

"Nah," Percy snickered. "They want to incinerate me even after I believed."

" **Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.** "

Zeus glared at Dionysus, who was looking anywhere but his father right now.

" **My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

 **"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."** "

"Isn't it technically torture," Percy said slowly. "to keep a god away from their source of power."

Future-Annabeth paused to think about it before nodding. "That's why gods' all try to make more of it, why Aphrodite does match-making or Ares tried to spark wars."

Percy frowned deeply. "So would it be draining Dionysus' power, to keep him from drinking wine?"

Zeus paused. "You may drink, but you will try harder to help the youths."

Dionysus sat up and shot Percy and Future-Annabeth a look of gratitude before he summoned a wine glass. Immediately when he took he sip, he looked younger and heathier. Dionysus settled into his seat, sighing contently.

" **Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke.** "

Future-Annabeth and Percy snickered.

"Behold1 The god's chosen beverage!" Future-Annabeth mimicked Percy's voice. "Tremble before the horror of diet coke!"

Percy sighed happily. "You know, despite the world ending and all that jazz, we did have a good time." Future-Annabeth hummed in agreement, pecking her boyfriend on the cheek.

The rest of the throne room stared at the exchange.

" **He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

 **Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."** "

"Probably because Zeus took a fancy to her himself," Aphrodite chuckled. Hera sneered fiercely at her.

" **"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space**

 **"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away-the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."** "

Zeus growled deep in his throat, glaring at his son.

" **Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.** "

The demigods unsuccessfully tried to muffle their snorts, but Dionysus wasn't paying attention, too content sipping his wine.

" **"And..." I stammered, "your father is..."**

 **"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."** "

"Like always," Percy snickered. At the gods' questioning glances, he shrugged. "It's always him who has a fling, isn't it?"

" **I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.** "

"Observant," Demeter muttered.

" **"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"** "

Aphrodite sniffed decisively. "Of course not."

" **"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."** "

Dionysus looked up from his wine to stare at Percy threateningly.

" **He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."** "

Dionysus settled back in his throne. With every sip of wine he took, the better he looked.

" **The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."** "

Dionysus perked up at the thought of beating the Latin teacher.

" **"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."** "

Dionysus deflated in disappointment.

" **I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

 **"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."** "

"Again," Zeus sneered. He earned himself a ton of glares from the group.

" **Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.** "

"Poor Grover," Hestia murmured.

"He deserves it," Zeus muttered bitterly.

" **"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

 **Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been...ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."** "

"Speaking of which, how long do I have left?" Dionysus asked hopefully.

Percy shrugged. "In my time, there was a fight in which you helped in so your sentence got shortened. You now have, like, 45 more years."

" **"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like...in America?"**

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."** "

"You're really not good at this Chiron," Luke sighed.

" **"** **The what?"**

 **"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps-Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on-but the same forces, the same gods."** "

Percy winced. "Not exactly the same. The Roman gods are much more disciplined and war-like, whilst the Greeks are much more relaxed yet crazy."

The gods stared at him.

"And...how would you know that?" Chiron asked softly.

Percy grinned wickedly. "Spoilers!" He sang.

" **"And then they died."**

 **"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture.** "

Both Annabeths hummed in agreement.

" **People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus.** "

Zeus puffed out his chest proudly.

" **Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not-and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either.** "

"Who could blame them?" Athena sneered.

" **America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

 **It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.** "

"The Greek Oldie Club!" Hermes cheered.

" **"Who are you, Chiron? Who...who am I?"** "

"This is is getting far too deep for my liking," Ares snorted.

" **Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.** "

"That's a matter of opinion," Chiron smiled mysteriously.

" **"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."** "

The demigods snorted.

"Bit of an understatement," Silena snickered.

 **And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear,** "

The Stolls looked at Percy with delight.

"Screw Annabeth, come date me!" Connor called.

" **but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur.** "

"It could be muscle-y lookin, white coarse fur underwear," Beckendorf offered.

Silena made a face. "Don't even suggest it."

" **And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.** "

"So that's how it works," Travis mumbled.

Beckendorf scoffed. "Of course it is, I made it after all."

Hephaestus, who had been taking notes, beamed with pride at his son, making him blush.

" **I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

 **"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."** "

"Cliff-hanger," Athena noted.

Demeter shut the book with a snap before offering it around. Hestia smiled at her sister and took the book before settling herself back on the floor by the hearth to continue reading.

" **6 - I BECOME SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM** "


	8. Chapter 8 - The Bathroom Supreme Has Arrived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.
> 
> Please don't take down my story.

" **6** **\- I BECOME SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM** "

Percy grinned sheepishly at the very confused glances. He turned to Clarisse. "I apologise in advance for what is about to happen."

Clarisse stared at him for a moment. "I hope, for your sake, my future self takes care of it Prissy, else-" She cut herself off her Percy's grin. "What's so funny?!"

"You called me Prissy," Percy smiled. "Future you also does. I'm glad you haven't changed."

Future-Annabeth sighed warily "I will never understand your friendship."

"Are we not going to talk about how weird it is to become the 'supreme lord of the bathroom'?!" Past-Annabeth blurted out.

"One with the plumbing," Percy snickered. Past-Annabeth glared at him.

Future-Annabeth huffed a laugh. "It's Percy, it's always going to be weird."

The gods and demigods didn't seem to like that answer, but let Hestia read on either way.

" **Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him.** "

Chiron raised an eyebrow.

" **I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.** "

The demigods broke into fits of laughter. Chiron shook his head fondly.

" **We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's him."** "

Silena whistled. "The gossip of camp on the first day, poor you."

" **Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover,** "

Dionysus snorted. "Most satyrs are bigger than Grover."

" **all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters.** "

"Shag-carpet pants," Connor corrected.

" **I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.** "

"Can you?" Hermes asked excitedly.

"Then? No. Now? Yes," Percy replied easily.

" **I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.** "

"...The oracle...it moved!" Apollo exclaimed, losing the weight that was piled on him.

"Yeah," Percy smiled, relieved that Apollo was forgetting about the situations Percy had been through. "It went downstairs a few years later, to delivering a prophecy."

Apollo looked ready to burst with happiness.

" **"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."** "

Hermes whistled. "Not lying but not telling the truth. Good job Chiron."

Chiron blushed and nodded.

" **I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

 **"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his light-hearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."** "

"And yet he can't change the subject," Hermes sighed.

" **We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.** "

"Thank the gods it wasn't Grover," Luke snorted.

" **Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

 **He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.** "

"Not anymore," A now younger and much hotter Dionysus sighed happily.

" **I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.** "

Past-Annabeth winced. "Not unless you want to go deaf."

" **I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.**

 **"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean…he was a good protector. Really."** "

Zeus snorted. Poseidon was ready to do the same until he saw the murderous glare his son was directing at Zeus. Grover was Percy's best friend, Poseidon reminded himself and slid himself down on the sofa with a sigh.

" **Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse's back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

 **"But he did that!"** "

Demeter shook her head. "You brought him, not the other way round."

" **"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate…ah…fate of your mother.** "

"That shouldn't change anything," Dionysus frowned. "The boy was his mission, the mother was just...collateral damage."

Percy scoffed. "That's the problem. You gods treat mortals as annoyances who are in the way, not people with lives and families and personalities."

"The same thing happens with demigods too," Future-Annabeth sighed. "Just because there are less powerful demigods doesn't make them worth any less. Me and Luke...we were just collateral damage, right? Thalia was the one you wanted as your tool, and we were blamed for her death because we survived. I don't have any powers and yet I was the leader of the group of the most powerful demigods of the age."

"And we wouldn't have had it any other way," Percy said simply, bumping shoulders with his girlfriend.

"This did take me a bit longer to realise though," Future-Annabeth's expression turned nostalgic. "I was the biggest bitch to Rachel, just 'cause I was jealous and angry. But I also considered her worth less for not having a godly parents, although she did have home issues too, I was just-"

"None of that," Percy frowned. "Wise girl, you have the worst case of abandonment issues I've ever met. Frankly, we should've had better communication, you should've confessed instead of taking it out on Rach, but we were young, we were fourteen, we were idiots." Percy paused. "You're also really hot when you're a bitch."

"Oh, so I'm not hot all the time?" Future-Annabeth countered.

"Hey, wait-no-I didn't-" Percy stammered but Future-Annabeth was cackling.

"I'm just teasing with you."

"And...she's back," Percy laughed, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek.

" **And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."** "

Percy was sucked right out of fantasy land and back into reality with a hard thump. He glared at Chiron. "Grover is the bravest satyr I've ever met."

"I know that Percy," Chiron said gently. "but in context of what happened, Grover didn't do too much."

Percy harrumphed but didn't say anything else.

" **I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.** "

Dionysus sighed. "Exactly! You just made the job harder on him."

" **"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age…"**

**"How old is he?"** "

"I really should stop asking people that," Percy sighed.

Future-Annabeth snickered. "Remember when Will asked Nico?"

Percy chuckled softly.

"...Nico? Di Angelo?" Hades asked timidly.

Zeus froze at that. "Your children with that mortal Maria are still alive?!"

The demigods stilled. Hades had children. HADES had CHILDREN.

Chiron stiffened. He didn't know what to do with the prospect of a possible child of Hades.

Percy and Future-Annabeth exchanged glances. "Uhm...spoilers? It'll come up in the third book."

Zeus and Hades looked to be in a staring competition, Zeus silently demanding Hades to repent but Hades wasn't backing down.

"Be calm brother. If my son is twenty-two, the prophecy must have passed." Poseidon told him. "Maria died seventy years ago, Hades did not break the oath, unlike you and I. If Percy said the prophecies disappearing was his fault, he most likely is the prophecy child. But you mustn't forget that Thalia Grace is alive in his timeline. If you kill Percy or the Di Angelos, you must also kill Thalia, an act, I'm sure, you do not wish to do."

"Times have to have changed if Uncle P is being the peace keeper," Hermes sniggered.

" **"Oh, twenty-eight."**

**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."** "

The Stolls looked at each other in horror. Beckendorf winced.

" **"That's horrible."**

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career. …"**

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"** "

"Yes," Zeus agreed instantly, glaring at Hades.

Hades sighed softly. "It wasn't fair to take it out on Thalia Grace, but you shouldn't have killed my Maria."

Luke and Past-Annabeth and the rest of the campers, who had their heads bowed in respect, exchanged confused glances.

"The Grace child deserved it," Hera sneered. Everyone glared at her, even Hades.

" **Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"** "

"Great liar, not so great at changing the subject," Artemis observed.

" **But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death.** "

"No, no, no and no!" Poseidon warned.

" **The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire— started forming in my mind.** "

"Percy," Poseidon groaned into his hands. Percy winced and grinned sheepishly.

" **"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real…"**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"** "

"Yep," Silena deadpanned.

"That's where the nightmares live," Clarisse agreed.

"A huge pain in our back sides," Katie sighed.

" **Chiron's expression darkened.**

 **"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now…until we know more…I would urge you to put that out of your mind."** "

"'Until we know more'," Demeter scoffed. "Are you trying to send him down to the Underworld?"

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."** "

"Yikes Chiron." Apollo winced. "You need to get better at that."

"We have a free spot on Saturday," Connor piped up.

" **As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.**

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

**"Stocked with what?"** "

"Monsters!" Travis declared with mock-cheerfulness.

**I asked. "Armed with what?"**

**"You'll see.** "

"Poor kid," Luke muttered. No one was explaining anything to him. Chiron was a good trainer, but he should not be in charge of 90-or-so kids.

" **Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"** "

"Why would he have his own?" Demeter asked.

"B'cos some demigod parents give their children weapons-" Beckendorf began. "Like me."

"Or their children pick up weapons on the way." Past-Annabeth smiled. She nudged Luke. "Like us."

" **"My own—?"**

 **"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do.** "

"Maybe a bit smaller," Future-Annabeth chuckled. Percy pouted.

" **I'll visit the armory later."**

 **I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory,** "

"I'd of thought you'd've noticed by now Percy," Travis shook his head in disappointment.

"That this is no ordinary summer camp," Connor finished.

" **but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),** "

"Of course," Apollo snickered.

" **the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually.** "

"I don't like the sound of that," Hestia huffed.

" **Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.** "

"It doesn't!" Zeus puffed out his chest proudly.

Percy and Future-Annabeth exchanged looks.

" **Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to drop the subject.** "

"He's so used to people watching the orientation film," Past-Annabeth sighed.

 **Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.** "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hera demanded.

" **Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.** "

Hephaestus smiled and Beckendorf cheered.

" **Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.** "

Katie grinned at her home, Demeter smiled.

" **Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.** "

Apollo seemed to let go of his thoughts for a second to light up at the description of his cabin.

" **They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).** "

"Of course," Future-Annabeth sighed.

" **In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.** "

Hestia paused and beamed at Percy. "You saw me!"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't stay to chat," Percy mumbled bashfully.

But Hestia just brushed him off. "That doesn't matter, you were in a state. As long as you acknowledge the hearth, the home, I am glad."

"Thanks, Aunt Hestia," Percy smiled. Hestia grinned wider, if that was possible.

" **The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.** "

Zeus cheered for his cabin.

" **Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.** "

Hera smirked and settled into her seat.

" **"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty."** "

Hera sniffed, "As all the cabins should be."

"Ok boomer," Percy retorted.

Nobody understood what he said but Future-Annabeth, who was trying really, _really_ , hard not to burst out laughing at the look on Queen Cow's face.

" **"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

 **Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot.** "

Hermes laughed. "I supposed you can think of it like that, yes."

" **Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?** "

"Because some people can keep it in their pants!" Artemis ground out.

" **I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three. It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.** "

Poseidon grinned. Percy smiled widely at the thought of his second home.

" **I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"** "

"Even if he wasn't my son, I wouldn't have hurt him," Poseidon frowned.

" **Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."** "

"And now I live there, with Tyson visiting sometimes." Percy cheered.

"Tyson?" Most of the throne room yelled.

"There's another sea brat?!" Athena screeched.

"He's not a half-blood," Percy huffed, annoyed.

"Then how-" Ares tried.

Percy smirked. "Now, that would be telling."

" **Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

 **Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me.** "

Ares and Clarisse cheered.

" **Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALFBLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit,** "

"Excuse me?!" Clarisse demanded.

Percy winced. "Yeah sorry about that, just wait until we finish the hating before you try to kick my ass."

Nobody commented on how he said 'try'.

" **though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

 **I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.** "

"PARTY PONIES!" The Stolls, Hermes, Apollo, and Percy yelled.

Percy was very glad Apollo had stopped thinking about his examination. That sucked.

" **"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really…"**

**He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules** "

Percy pulled a face. Artemis' hands curled into fists. Zeus beamed proudly.

" **and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

 **"But, shouldn't you be dead?"** "

"Percy!" Future-Annabeth chided exasperatedly. "Have a little more tact!"

" **Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him.** "

"Death and fate always intrigues me," Chiron smiled.

**"I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish…and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.** "

"Mood," Future-Annabeth snickered.

"I really don't understand what I turn into," Past-Annabeth sighed.

" **"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

**"Why depressing?"** "

Chiron's expression turned sad as he thought about his past students.

" **Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

 **"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."** "

"You need to get better Chiron," Hermes sighed.

" **The blond girl** "

Past-Annabeth scowled, Luke laughed lightly until he got elbowed.

" **I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

 **When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.** "

"Yes, Percy," Future-Annabeth deadpanned. "that's exactly what I was thinking."

" **I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.** "

"It was an architecture book, and I wasn't even there," Travis laughed. Both Annabeths gave him a death glare.

" **"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

**"Yes, sir."**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."** "

The Stolls and Hermes cheered. Luke didn't make any outward notion that he had heard it.

" **Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling.** "

Hermes sighed, looking downtrodden.

" **Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it…? A caduceus.** "

"You knew that?" Athena asked.

Hermes pulled out his iPhone and extended it out into his caduceus.

" _Are we getting fed now?_ " A male voice hissed softly, sounding annoyed.

" _Oh husssh up George!_ " A female voice snapped back. " _I want to hear thisss._ "

" _But ratsss Martha, RATSSS!_ " George ground out.

"Shut it you two, I only brought you out to brag, I need to hear about my future," Hermes scorned. The two snakes fell silent.

" **Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy.** "

"Yeah, I'll be needing it," Percy sighed. "Hermes kids are really intimidating, for no reason!"

" **I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.** "

"Why are kids so judgy?" Percy huffed.

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.** "

"'Naturally'," Ares snickered.

" **There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned.** "

"I'm so glad you fixed that," Future-Annabeth smiled.

"Wait, what? How?" Luke asked excitedly.

Future-Annabeth smirked and moved to whisper in his ear. " _Spoilers_."

Luke mock-glared at her and she laughed.

"You all need to claim your kids," Hestia sighed, looking at her siblings.

"I do!" Poseidon protested.

"I don't have kids," Artemis objected.

"Hear, hear," Hera agreed.

"Okay, all of you except for Poseidon and the maiden goddesses, except for Athena, need to claim your kids," Hestia amended.

All the other gods and goddesses shifted in their seat uncomfortably.

" **A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

 **The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.** "

"Luke's in the book!" Travis whooped.

" **"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.** "

Past-Annabeth went red, Luke smiled weakly and looked vaguely uncomfortable.

Future-Annabeth's eye turned dangerous. "I was not!"

"Was too!" Percy countered childishly.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was no-"

"ENOUGH, CHILDREN!" Athena boomed. She glared at Percy strongly and gave Future-Annabeth a disappointed shake of the head.

Future-Annabeth snorted. "The importance of your opinion of me went to zilch after..." She trailed off, her eyes reaching Past-Annabeth's.

Percy squeezed her hand gently and murmured reassurances in her ear until she calmed down.

" **She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers."** "

"You know," Connor sighed. "It's annoying being in he overcrowded cabin, I'd love for the gods to fucking claim their kids, but I'd never change my parent."

Luke didn't seem to agree, his face morphing into a scowl.

" **I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down,** "

Travis and Connor sat up eagerly, Katie gave them her best disapproving stare.

" **but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.** "

The Stolls deflated.

Hermes pouted. "Shame, that would've looked great above one of my kid's bed."

" **I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed.** "

The demigods snickered.

Hestia frowned.

" **"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

 **"I've already seen it."** "

"Smooth, Jackson," Clarisse sniggered.

" **"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

 **When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."** "

"You don't have to be so rude about it," Apollo huffed.

"On the contrary, brother," Artemis interjected. "she is giving advice."

"Yeah, rudely," Ares remarked.

Demeter rolled her eyes. "Well, despite your beliefs, a girl does not have to be delicate and sweet."

"He didn't say that," Hermes pointed out. "He said Annabeth didn't have to be so rude with her advice, not that she had to be 'delicate and sweet'."

"It was implied!" Demeter snapped back.

"And even if she was rude, that would be perfectly acceptable," Hera sneered.

"Oh, so it's alright if a _girl_ is rude, but a _man_ is a big no-no?" Dionysus snarled, looking up from his magazine.

"First off, don't let Hera speak for us. And, no offence Arty and Demeter, but you guys are pretty biased," Aphrodite cut in.

Artemis shrugged unbothered. "Someone has to be," Demeter hummed in agreement. Artemis paused for a second before her eyes narrowed. "And don't call me 'Arty'."

"Second off," Aphrodite continued like Artemis didn't say anything. "Annabeth was running on tension from finding another demigod who wouldn't get her a quest. She shouldn't have taken it out on Percy, yes I know, but can you really blame her for wanting to have a life."

"How would you know that?" Athena sneered.

Aphrodite sighed heavily. "Goddess of _all_ loves, remember? Including a love for things like the outside world, or for adventure. Also, with a couple millennia in my purse, I'm like super good at reading people."

" **"What?"**

 **She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."** "

"Oh but he is," Travis snickered.

A footsteps ran across the throne room and screaming was heard before Travis plonked down again with a swollen lip and a black eye.

" **"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"**

 **"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"** "

"What?" Silena asked, confused.

" **"To get killed?"**

 **"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"** "

"To not get killed...?" Beckendorf said slowly. Past-Annabeth was blushing bright red.

"She _needs_ to sought out her priorities," Percy whispered loudly in a British accent.

" **I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories…"**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one."** "

"Well," Hermes began dryly. "There was only one woman cursed to fall in love with a bull, so unless this one was 'Made in China', I don't think there's going to be another."

" **"Yes."**

 **"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus** "

Dionysus scowled.

" **killed him in the labyrinth. So…"**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."** "

Hermes sniggered. "I love your sarcasm."

" **"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky.** "

"And obviously you're not," Future-Annabeth remarked.

" **But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they reform."**

 **I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"** "

"Then she's going to be pissed," Hades surmised.

" **"The Fur…I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep."** "

"Still do," Future-Annabeth laughed. Percy blushed.

" **"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

 **Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."** "

"Why though? They. Are. _Not_. Kind," Percy stressed.

" **"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."**

**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or…your parent."**

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.** "

"You'd be waiting for a long time," Clarisse sniggered.

" **"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

**"He's dead. I never knew him."** "

"So...Uncle P is a zombie?" Ares snickered.

"Don't even joke about it. Imagine the paperwork," Hades moaned.

" **Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids. "Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."** "

"Well, now I do," Future-Annabeth smiled at Poseidon.

Athena's eyes went dark. " _Wh_ -"

"D'you reckon that's another bit of 'people in the past being prophetic'?" Percy interrupted loudly before Athena could say anything else to hurt his girlfriend.

Future-Annabeth frowned, having not heard her mother's exclamation. "I'm not sure."

"Hold the phone! Annabeth Chase. The _smartest_ child of Athena...doesn't know something?! Call the press! This is newsworthy!" Percy declared dramatically.

Future-Annabeth hit him. Poseidon's eyes crinkled with a smile as he watched their antics.

"I think I can hear wedding bells," He ribbed good-naturedly. "Future children are coming!"

Percy and both Annabeths went red. Athena's eyes turned even darker. Past-Annabeth was still spluttering about being called 'the smartest child of Athena'.

"But Percy's already thought about it, hasn't he?" Aphrodite teased with delight.

Future-Annabeth went even redder. " _WHAT?!_ " She squeaked, turning to her boyfriend, who was hiding his face in his hands. "I mean, I knew about your plans for us in New Rome, but-I-not- _what?_ "

Past-Annabeth paused in her freaking-out. ' _New Rome_ '? Why were those two making so many references so Romans. They weren't supposed to get along?! Besides, they were long dead. She thought about bringing this up but thought better of it, the need to know what her future boyfriend thought about kids was killing her. She'd bring this up later.

Athena's inner turmoil was coiling away from her daughter. Annabeth was going to marry a sea brat, have his _babies_ , live in _New Rome_?! Was she even her daughter?! Something must have gone horribly wrong.

Percy groaned into his hands. "You remember when we met the Kanes?"

His Annabeth nodded slowly. "Yes...?"

"You remember Sadie?"

"Uh huh...?"

"She just," Percy blushed. "She reminded me of what our future child would be like."

His Annabeth's eyes widened. "With her looks being more...me, and her personality being more...you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh gods, Percy, oh that's really sweet," His Annabeth paused. "I just, I don't think I'm there yet. I mean, when I was younger it was all 'we're gonna die so might as well live', but now we have _time_ and _safety_ and _stability_." She rushed. "I've never _really_ had a family. I mean, you have your mom, and Paul, and Estelle, and a good relationship with your dad, and I just...don't? I'm sorry. This is really not a good time to be talking about this. And I know you're kind of expecting something, because, like, you proposed a while back and I said 'I'm not ready' and you said you'd wait, but, Hazel and Frank are getting _married_ , and they've known each other for a _much_ shorter amount of time, but I just, I'm not...ready...?"

Percy laughed softly. "Wise girl, I don't mind that you're not ready. I'll wait for as long as it takes, alright? It's me and you against the world, remember? We'll finish our studies, move into a proper home, get real jobs, you can start your firm, and whenever you're ready, talk to me, alright? Maybe we can get a dog to start with, or babysit Estelle more, or take care of the younger campers...heck, you can say you don't want kids and I'll stand by you. I meant it when I said you were never getting away from me."

"Never again," His Annabeth agreed, eyes watering.

"So stop it with those abandonment issues, okay babe?"

"And..." His Annabeth hiccupped. "and if I said I wanted to become a Huntress of Artemis?"

Percy frowned. "Well, I sure as Hades would cry about it for a long, _long_ , time, but I'd run with it because I love you Wise Girl. Now, anymore stupid questions?"

His Annabeth laughed watery and smiled at Percy. "How did I get so lucky?"

"More like how, did _I_ get so lucky?" Percy snorted. "You were there from thin and thick, from went I passed my SATs to when there was no more blue cookies."

His Annabeth laughed, properly this time. "Seaweed Brain," She muttered fondly.

Hestia smiled at the pair, letting them have their moment before continuing.

" **"Then how can you say—"**

**"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."** "

"Sorry I was so mean," Future-Annabeth muttered to Percy, who just smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.

**"How—"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."** "

"It's great on the battlefield, not so much in the classroom," Clarisse sighed.

" **"You sound like…you went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar?"** "

"Food of the gods," Katie sighed contently.

"And drink," Travis added. Katie glared at him.

" **"The food and drink** "

"See!" Travis cheered. Katie hit him.

" **we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.** "

"The beginning?" Hephaestus suggested.

" **Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

**"Clarisse,"** "

"So Clarisse gets a speaking part! No fair!" Travis pouted.

" **Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

**"Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which I somehow understood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.** "

"And I now know that it means go to Hades," Percy said conversationally. "Which translates to 'go fuck yourself'."

" **"You don't stand a chance."**

 **"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat.** "

"Why me?" Clarisse groaned when Ares looked at her accusingingly.

"Ha! If I'm getting exposed, all of youse coming down with me!" Percy cheered.

" **She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

 **"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."** "

Clarisse grinned proudly.

" **I blinked. "Like…the war god?"**

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

**"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."** "

"Ooooooh!" Hermes, the Stolls, and Apollo whistled.

Ares growled. "Don't disrespect my cabin."

Clarisse's eye twitched.

" **Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."** "

"There it is!" Percy cheered.

" **"Percy."**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

**"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl."** "

"What is it, nickname day?" Future-Annabeth muttered.

" **Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.** "

"There is nothing wrong with asking for help," Hestia told Percy kindly.

" **I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinderblock building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

 **I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron.** "

Ares cheered proudly.

" **She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.** "

"They can, they just don't care," Luke muttered bitterly.

" **Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.** "

"Because there's no water to add strength, you're nothing without it," Zeus snarled. Poseidon looked ready to bite his head off.

"I didn't realise how much you loved my dad, thanks Big Z," Percy retorted coolly.

" **"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."** "

Beckendorf winced. "You need better insults."

" **Her friends snickered.**

 **Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.** "

"I wasn't!" Future-Annabeth protested.

"You kind of were," Percy admitted.

" **Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets. I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.** "

Poseidon grinned and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

" **Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.** "

" _Prissy_ ," Clarisse warned. Percy winced and shrank down.

" **I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

 **She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.** "

"'Like pieces of garbage'," Clarisse quoted bitterly.

"Sorry?" Came Percy's response.

" **As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.** "

"Good control," Poseidon smiled at his son.

" **The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared. She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.** "

Future-Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "I still need to get you back for that."

" **I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.** "

"Wow," Poseidon whispered. "And this is without training."

" **I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you…"**

**"I don't know."**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."** "

Clarisse looked ready for murder, growling deep in her throat like a dog.

" **Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

**"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag.** "

"Damn straight!" Future-Annabeth laughed. "Both me and you on a team, we always win."

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "When you were missing, we definitely lost. And me and Thalia got into a fight. That was not fun."

Future-Annabeth turned to look at him. "Wait, really? Is that why you're so used to her shocks now?"

"Yeah," Percy sighed.

Past-Annabeth stared at them. " _What_?"

"I don't even want to question it anymore," Luke shook his head.

"We shall continue then?" Hestia asked, holding out the book. "Or shall we have another break?"

"BREAK! BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!" Most of the throne room chanted.

Hestia laughed. "Alright, alright, we'll have a break. Come back in fifteen minutes!"

Mot of the demigods sprinted out, all going in different directions.

Zeus sighed and rubbed his face. "Hestia, I think you just rained hell."


End file.
